Code Geass: Knightmares VS BattleMechs!
by Itoayatsuri Marionette Master
Summary: CG-BattleTechX-over. World peace has been achieved thanks to Lelouch's "death", but an organization hell-bent on throwing the world to utter chaos is about to unleash something worse than FLEIJA. BattleMechs. M violence/sexref. KallenxLulu. On hiatus.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass or any MechWarrior/BattleTech related content in this fic. The OCs are mine though.

**Paris, France**

**1800 hours MST**

**August 10th, 2020 a.t.b.**

Paris; the city of love. France, considered (by the French) to be Europe's cultural epicenter. The first European nation to be conquered by the invading Britannian army during the reign of Charles zi Britannia and the last European nation to be freed from Britannia's control.

Following the creation of the United Federation of Nations and the Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia's apparent demise, France had become a cultural hotspot and a must-visit location for tourists in the European continent. Since the threat of invasion by a superpower like Britannia no longer existed France joined the United Federation of Nations. The French military dismantled peacefully and handed military operations over to the Black Knights.

This was _after_ Britannia, now under the leadership of Nunnally, Schneizel, and a de-Geassed Odysseus released France from its control. But to get access to the European continent, the Black Knights had to negotiate with Germany, the Euro Universe's military powerhouse. The German military command was the group responsible for the strategy that resulted in the near-defeat of Prince Schneizel's amphibious invasion. Along with the military of the British Isles, the Germans denied the Black Knights access to Europe. The end result was that the Black Knights allowed the E.U. military the exclusive right to defend the European continent. However, the former Princess Cornelia and her second in command Gilbert G.P. Guilford would be overseeing the E.U. military in the U.F.N. member countries.

The E.U. military, the Germans in particular, didn't exactly enjoy the thought of being subordinate to another group, but it approved the plan.

But in France, the German military only stationed a single squad of Panzerfausts (Sutherland frames converted extensively by the Germans) Knightmare Frames, a company of Panzer-Hummels, and two battalions of old Britannian Knight Police frames. Contrary to the narcissistic belief of the French populace, France had no strategic value to it. In the view of most of the world, it was an obstacle blocking access to Sakuradite-rich countries in the EU. But with Lelouch the Demon gone, who was going to attack Europe, let alone _France_?

This assumption would cost the French dearly.

* * *

**Location Unknown**

"This is Colonel Morrighan Agrona. The 1st Red Knight battalion is ready for deployment. Can we start the fireworks Tòmachan?" asked a voluptuous female voice over the earpiece communication system. The hint of an Irish accent could be heard in her speech.

"That's Krieg Kommandeur Tàmhas Wotan to you, Morri," Replied Tamhas Wotan in a tone of muted-amusement. The 6'1" Scots-German male shifted his weight in his command chair as his eyes examined the chessboard in front of him behind a pair of large black aviator sunglasses. "Give me an inventory of the battlion's forces." He said coolly as he picked up the white pawn that sat in front of the king from the chessboard. He began tossing the pawn in the air and catching it as he waited for Morrighan's answer as he ran his other hand through his messy black hair, which was a stark contrast from his nearly albino skin.

"Let's see…" Morrighan voice said over the comm. "One comany of _Piranha_ light frames-"

"BattleMechs," Tàmhas corrected his subordinate as he snatched the white pawn out of the air, "Melor wants us to call them BattleMechs, or just Mechs. Not 'frames'. You know how he is when he gets angry." He set the pawn on the chessboard one square out from the main line in front of the King. He moved a red piece on the other side of the board and picked up one of the white bishops. "Please continue Morrighan."

"Right." Morrighan replied coldly. Her voice sounded a little irritated at being interrupted. "For long-range support, we've got a lance of Puma Light Mechs each armed with a pair Gemings's particle projector cannons. The EU won't know what hit them!"

"Uh-huh," Tàmhas grunted as he put the bishop down and moved each side three more times before he picked the white queen up and started absent-mindedly twirling it in his right hand. "Having powerful long-range weapons like that would be nice Morrighan _if_ you were fighting the German military on an open field. The platoon will be engaged in an urban combat scenario. I trust you planned accordingly?"

"Of course!" Morrighan replied so cheerfully that Tàmhas could practically hear her smiling. "I have a lance of _Firefly_ mechs for recon purposes, a lance of _Duan Gung_ Mechs for fire support to back up the _Pumas_. The 1st's main force is a company of _Firestarter_ Mechs. I just hope none of the pilots are pyromaniacs! It'd be a shame if they decided they wanted to see how a _Firestarter_ looked on fire! Hehehe!" She paused for a moment and sighed before she added, "We've got two lances of _UrbanMech_s as well. Don't know why we're only using-"

"I'm curious Morri," said Tàmhas as he cut off Morrighan before she went on a rant about 'how Research & Development wastes too many resources to create so many light Mechs'. He stopped twirling the queen piece as he continued, "Since you're so enthusiastic about the operation, I assume your leading it personally. Will you and your command team be using light Mechs like the troops under your command?"

"Haha!" Morrighan's laugh was just what Tàmhas expected from his subordinate. "I'd rather be stuck in a totaled Ganymede Knightmare than caught dead in something like a _Firestarter_ or _UrbanMech_! The same goes for Major Irmalinda and Warrant Officer Idunn."

"That certainly sounds like Madde," Tàmhas pointed out as he placed the white queen diagonally behind one of the white bishops. Then he castled the red king on the chessboard behind a wall of three pawns in the far right corner of the board. "So Morrighan, what Mechs are you three COs piloting?"

"That would be telling Tòmachan!" Morrighan teased playfully. "Even though you'll know what were piloting when the op begins. Let's just say that the commanders in the German military would have to be stupid to try and take our mechs on in single combat."

"Morri, I will say this before Bindy and Madde tell you at the start of the operation: Don't underestimate the leaders of the German military," Tàmhas warned as he reached up and adjusted his aviator sunglasses, "They're not your average military commanders."

"Eh, I'm still not worried," Morrighan's voice replied cheerfully, "I'll see you back on the _Krieg Chessboard _when the op's over." With that, the voice-only comm shut off.

Tamhas chuckled as he took the white bishop in front of the white queen and captured the far-right pawn in the little wall of pawns he'd castled the red king behind. Now that illusion of safety was gone. A smirk formed on his face as he declared to no one in particular, "And now I call…"

* * *

**Somewhere in rural Japan, Zen Buddhist Temple**

**0800 hours MST**

"…Check," Said a familiar voice as the owner captured the far left white pawn from a three pawn wall formation of the white king's pawn-rook defense with a black bishop. The voice belonged to an adolescent male in his late teens. He had shoulder-length blond hair, lavender eyes, and unusually pale skin that was a stark contrast from the dark purple robes of the Zen Buddhist monk that the male had been borrowing for the past year.

The boy looked calmly over at his opponent, the head monk of the Buddhist temple, who was currently rubbing his chin in thought. A small smile crossed the boy's face as he went over the moves in which the monk could make, and they all pointed toward the boy's victory.

Finally the head monk touched the white King and tipped it over. "You win again Lou-san." The monk said as he clasped his hands together respectfully bowed his head. Lou returned the gesture the moment the monk had finished. "You have the potential of chess grandmaster Lou-san. You should not be here in this temple; you should be challenging the great chess players of the world."

"I'm not cut out to be a celebrity," Lou replied as a genuine smile appeared on his face, "I'm too camera shy." He turned his head toward the doorway as a lower ranking monk burst inside.

"Master Nara!" The monk shouted. He doubled over, gasping for breath before he continued, "Something terrible just happened! You have to get to the TV room fast!"

By the time Master Nara had gotten up from his cross-legged position Lou had already stumbled out the doorway and was halfway down the hall.

Lou fell headfirst through the doorway of the TV room. He slowly got to his feet and dusted himself off as he spotted a girl with long bright green hair and dressed in strange white clothing sitting on her knees in front of the massive plasma screen TV, cradling a child-sized Cheese-kun plushie. She sat in front of all of the temple's monks, who were too preoccupied waiting for the news report to notice Lou's less-than-graceful entrance. Lou ignored her for the time being as he took a seat in the back of the room as the news came back on. Lou smiled as the familiar face of Milly Ashford appeared on the screen.

"This is Milly Ashford of KT Television with breaking news."

"The city of Paris, capitol of United Federation of Nations member France, is currently under attack by an unknown enemy. We don't have any visual images of the enemy forces, but sources from inside Paris say that this enemy is using highly advanced technology. Sources within the German military stationed in France say that the enemy intends to raze the city building by building and will stop at nothing until Paris has been completely annihilated. We'll keep you updated on this story as it develops."

* * *

Authors note: For everyone who's not familiar with all the BattleTech content, google BattleTech wiki if you're interested in what particular Mechs I'm talking about.


	2. Chapter 1: A New Game

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass or any MechWarrior/BattleTech related content in this fic. However, the OCs are mine.

* * *

**Outskirts of Paris**

**2257 hours MST**

**August 10th, 2020 a.t.b**

"Verdammt!" shouted the German EU Major as he slammed his fists against the battle map aboard the E.U.'s G-1 land cruiser. He turned to the warrant officer on his left. "How many Panzerfausts are ready for combat?"

"All of the Panzerfausts are ready for launch Major Eckhard," replied the warrant officer. He shifted uncomfortably next to his superior as he before he spoke again. "Sir, may I be so bold as to suggest we send a call to Colonel Cornelia Li Britannia of the Black Knights? Our forces are having trouble protecting civilians as they evacuate the city."

"Nein!" Major Eckhard shouted as he slammed his fist down on the map. "We will defend this city without their help! Or do you doubt my abilities as a commander Warrant Officer Karlmann?"

"O-of course not Major!" Karlmann stammered as he saluted the rather intimidating major.

"Good. Now, tell the engineers to prep my Gareth for launch." Eckhard barked at the hapless warrant officer before he turned to the officer on his left. "Lieutenant Jacobs, you have command of the G-1. I'm taking the fight to the enemy." With that Major Eckhard stormed out of the command center.

* * *

**Ruins of UFN Paris Office, La Défense Business District**

**2319 hours MST**

**August 10th, a.t.b.  
**

"Morrighan! I'm bored!" whined Major Madde Irmalinda to Morrighan over the vidcom from her Mech, the 75 ton, 10.5-meters-tall _Mad Cat_. Morrighan opened her green eyes as her subordinate's whining woke her from a rather pleasant daydream. Pushing the long bangs of her shoulder-length, fiery orange hair out of her eyes Morrighan looked at the vidcom only herself getting mooned by Madde's black jumpsuit-covered ass. A vein pulsed on her forehead as she switched off Madde's vidcom and smacked a hand against her forehead.

With the call-sign "Playmate", the Major's actions shouldn't have annoyed Morrighan as much as it did right now. A voluptuous 5'4" German female with radiant pale skin, waist-length blond hair and blue eyes, Madde would have been the ideal female of the discredited 'Ayran race' theory. She had a very large chest that gave her the so-called 'hour-glass' figure that every male in the battle group secretly lusted for. Madde knew that and wore a pilot jumpsuit that showed a lot of skin in the right areas as a result.

"Quit complaining Madde," said Warrant Officer Belinda Idunn scolded her superior over the comm channel. Another blond-haired, blue-eyed German female, Belinda stood at 5'6" with a slender yet curvaceous figure that fit easily into the cockpit of her 50 ton, 8-meters-tall_ Uziel_. The only reason that Belinda could chastise Madde without the latter pulling rank was because the two were very close friends.

Colonel Morrighan Agrona let out a sigh of exasperation. A 5'8", 18 year old Irish girl with what she had been told was a very curvaceous figure; Morrighan made it a point to wear loose-fitting, baggy clothing whenever she could to avoid the perverted stares of her subordinates. Unfortunately, the jumpsuit for a 'Mech pilot was very…skintight.

"Cut the chatter you two," Morrighan barked from over the comm channel of her 60 ton, 10-meter-tall Vulture. The three commanding officers had their BattleMechs had hidden inside the ruined remains of the UFN Paris Office, which was located outside La Défense at the Western end of the Axe Historique. The three commanding officers had shut down their 'Mechs to conceal their location from any reconnaissance aircraft that would be using infrared to search for hostiles. The problem with the Battlemech was it appeared like the sun on an infrared image when active.

So far the operation was going smoothly. Morrighan had sent the lance of _Firefly_ Mechs to scout the city using La Défense as a starting point. The two lances of _Piranha_ Mechs had hidden themselves around the Arc de Triomphe facing the Champs-Elysees as defensive troops for a fallback point if the operation went FUBAR. For long range support Morrighan had the lance of _Duan Gungs_ jump jet on top the sky-scrappers of La Défense to get the best range with their long-range missiles. The _Puma_ lance had split into two pairs that lurked in the western outskirts of Paris, waiting for orders plus acting as an impromptu rear guard. Meanwhile the _UrbanMechs_ and _Firestarters_ ran amuck in the city, raising hell as they terrorized the fleeing civilian population. Morrighan disliked the fact that they were acting like Britannian invasion forces, but those were their orders from the top.

* * *

**Montmartre, en route to Arc de Triomphe**

**2335 hours MST**

**August 10th, a.t.b.  
**

"All units, head for the Arc de Triomphe!" ordered Major Eckhard as his Gareth flew over the top of Montmarte, just barely missing the blade of a windmill as it passed. He glanced in his IFF scanner and checked the status of his forces. Half of the Panzer-Hummels had been destroyed by the enemy by a new type of aerial bombardment, and the ones already in the city were searching for enemies to destroy. The majority of them had already entered the Left Bank, where most of the city was already in flames. The Knight Police units had been tasked with protecting the escaping civilians, so they wouldn't be of any use to the operation. The only forces that he could use were the Panzerfausts under his command.

The Panzerfaust Knightmare was a special Sutherland design that exchanged mobility for firepower. Armed with two arm-mounted assault rifles with, six chest-mounted Slash Harkens equipped Harken Boosters and a shoulder-mounted Chaos Mine launcher, the Panzerfaust was a force to be reckoned with. Currently the 16 man squad was headed to the Arc de Triomphe via the Champ-Elyees with orders to search and destroy.

The Major was brought out of his strategic daydream when he heard an odd rhythmic series of thumps below his Gareth. He looked down and saw an unusual Knightmare plodding through the street below. It had no landspinner system, two large legs, a large gun that the Major assumed was its right arm, accompanied by a smaller gun for its left arm, and a rotund torso that seemed to lack any sort of recognizable head. Its ruby red/black color scheme caused it to stick out like a sore thumb in the city terrain.

'_An enemy unit,'_ Eckhard thought as he charged the Gareth's arm mounted Hadron Machine Guns. He grinned as the weapons reached full capacity as his Gareth floated down in what he assumed was the front of the strange Knightmare. "Die!" He shouted as he pulled the trigger.

The strange Knightmare frame stumbled backward as the red Hadron bullets stitched a diagonal line from its right leg to left shoulder. The unusual frame's legs kept it upright under the barrage for ten seconds before it toppled to the ground.

"It's still intact?" The Major said, awestruck as his Gareth floated up to the Knightmare for a closer look. The unknown frame was only a little larger than his Gareth, about 6.5 meters at best. What surprised Eckhard the most was the apparent lack of Slash Harkens on the Knightmare. _'Just what kind of enemies are we fighting?'_ He thought in shock.

Eckhard was soon knocked out of this dumbfounded state. Literally. He snapped back into reality as three emerald green beams of light nailed his Gareth's head, turning it to molten slag in a split-second. He looked up from the downed Knightmare as the missile-lock alarm blared in his ears and saw a quintet of missiles headed straight for him from the other end of the boulevard. Eckhard grimaced as he activated the Gareth's landspinners in full reverse and shot backward. He defensively covered the cockpit with the Gareth's arms as he braced for impact.

Unfortunately for Eckhard, he underestimated the missiles' combined punch. The Major winced as the right arm of his Gareth was blown off at the elbow and the Knightmare was knocked clear off its feet. He struggled with the controls for about twenty seconds before the Gareth was on its feet again. Now he faced two enemy Knightmares. The one that he'd almost turned into Swiss cheese with his Hadron guns, and a new opponent.

The second Knightmare was at least half a meter shorter than the first one. Like its compatriot, its feet also lacked landspinners and its knees pointed backwards, giving it the appearance of a giant metal chicken. Its tall legs made up all of its height, each leg attached to one side of the cockpit. A box-shaped missile rack sat atop the frame, while a small barrel stuck out of the nose of the cockpit, and two other guns stuck on the outside of the 'hip joints' of the Knightmare. A pair of short, stubby wings protruded from the back.

"Shit…" Eckhard cursed under his breath as charged the Hadron Machine gun in his Gareth's left arm. Luckily for him the float system hadn't taken damage, so he could escape if things got out of hand.

"This should be fun." He thought as he prepared to fire his all six of the Gareth's hip-mounted Slash Harkens at the already damaged enemy frame.

To his surprise, both frames immediately did an about face and started to retreat. Two jets of blue flame ignited underneath the cockpit of the newcomer Knightmare and it shot off into the night sky toward some other part of the city.

"You're not getting away from me!" Eckhard shouted at the first Knightmare as a pillar of exhaust erupted from a box on its back. He pulled the trigger for his Slash Harkens and fired all six, aiming high to hit the frame as it took off. He guessed the trajectory of the frame's path correctly. Four of the Slash Harkens smashed through the frame's already damaged left leg, while the other two anchors slammed into the box that was the source of the exhaust. There was an explosion from that box as Eckhard pulled the Harkens back to the Gareth, mangling the frame's left leg in the process. But that wasn't the worst of it for the enemy pilot. The explosion sent the frame hurtling toward the ground, where it impaled itself 'face-first' on a lamp post. There was about two second period before the frame exploded with more force than the normal death of a Knightmare frame and took out the building beside the lamp post in the explosion. The EU Major activated his Gareth's float system and headed for the Champ-Elyees.

* * *

**Ruins of UFN Paris Office, La Défense Business District**

**2344 hours MST**

**August 10th, a.t.b.**

The crackling of the _Vulture_'s comm channel was a rude awakening from a pleasant daydream.

"This is _Firefly_ Lance leader!" A male voice gasped over Morrighan's comm, "_Urbie_ 8 just bought it fighting the EU commander!"

_'The first 'Mech to get destroyed was an UrbanMech. Figures,'_ Morrighan thought as she sat up in the pilot seat and donned her neurohelmet. "Keep me posted Worm." She said, referring to the _Firefly_'s pilot by his callsign.

"Oracle, this is _Piranha_ Alpha Lance Leader," called in another voice over the comm, using Morrighan's callsign instead of her real name or rank. "The Panzerrfausts are moving up the wide avenue on the Arc de Triomphe now. They've already covered one third of the distance. Requesting permission to engage."

"Negative Twitch." Morrighan said calmly, "_Piranha_ Alpha and Beta Lances are to hold fire until all the Knightmares are three-quarters of the way to the avenue before engaging. I'll have Archery Lance soften them up for you."

"Affirmative."

"You heard that Skippy?" Morrighan asked the leader of the _Duan Gung_ lance that was perched atop the skyscrapers above her.

"Copy that Oracle. Acquiring target lock now."

"Oracle, this is _Puma_ 3," said a new voice over the comm, "I have a visual Black Knight VTOLs approaching from the Southwest. "

"I copy that Hammer," Morrighan said, slightly exasperated, "Hold your fire and continue to observe their movements. Keep me updated."

"So how's it feel to be the one giving all the orders Oracle," Tamhas asked as his face popped up on the vidcom.

"To be honest Grandmaster, it's really stressing," Morrighan replied, calling her superior by his callsign.

"Now you know how I feel." Tamhas said dully, "And since I'm on an open channel with you three, power up your 'Mechs now, cause you're gonna need them soon." He paused before he added, "Oh and Playmate...STOP MOONING THE VIDCOM WITH YOUR CLOTHES ON!" There was a squeal of fright from Madde's comm channel before the vidcom shut off.

Morrighan sighed and started a systems diagnostic on the _Vulture_.

* * *

**Ashford University, Japan**

**1201 hours MST**

**August 11th, 2020 a.t.b.**

Kallen Kozuki sat inside the meeting room of the Ashford University Student Council building, futilely trying to keep herself preoccupied with the work given to her by Student Council _President_ Rivalz. Kallen, as the vice-president, had a larger workload than the other three members of the Student Council. She adjusted the green skirt on the university uniform for the umpteenth time that day and glared at Gino Weinberg and the other Student Council member, an Irish transfer student named Conley Sullivan. The two were currently engaged of a game of chess with Gino losing badly.

"Hey Gino!" Rivalz shouted as he burst inside the Student Council room, "Turn on the news!" Gino muttered something about breaking his concentration as he snatched the remote off the table and turned on the TV hanging on the far wall.

"This is Milly Ashford of KT Television with an update on the situation in Paris."

"Our correspondents in France managed to establish contact with the German branch of KT Television and sent us this footage. Here is the world's first look at the enemy's Knightmares. Viewer discretion is advised, the footage may be graphic."

Kallen stopped what she was doing and watched as the TV began with the image a Panzer-Hummel get its cockpit annihilated by a round from an _UrbanMech_'s autocannon. '_The cameraman must be terrified_', she thought as she noticed the shaking of the screen.

Suddenly the camera jerked to the right and showed a humanoid Knightmare frame as it incinerated another pair of Panzer-Hummels with a quartet of massive flamethrowers. The sound of screeching tires could be heard as the Knightmare turned to face the camera. Four jets of flame shot toward the screen and then everything went to static.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

For those of you who're wondering if I'm going to use MechWarriors for the BattleTech universe, I plan on using mostly OCs.


	3. Chapter 2: Battle of Paris

**Skies over Paris**

**04:09 hours MST**

**August 11****th****, 2020 a.t.b.**

"This is Colonel Cornelia li Britannia of the Black Knights. Any EU forces, please respond," Cornelia said over an open comm channel. She was seated in the cockpit of her Gloucester as it flew over Paris. Her Gloucester had been equipped with a float system, which allowed it to travel with Gilbert G.P. Guilford's Vincent Aircraft Commander and still be ready for combat. She was leading a regiment-sized combined force of float-equipped Gloucesters, Akatsukis, and VTOL-using Sutherlands from the Black Knight's base in Madrid to engage the enemy that had attacked Paris. From the latest reports, the EU German command was in disarray, but they had been keeping the enemy from advancing any further. That report was thirteen minutes old.

"Milady," Guilford's face appeared on the comm channel, "Any idea what we're up against?"

"We both saw newsreel Guilford," Cornelia replied as she adjusted her Gloucester's angle of attack, "Someone apparently has been developing new Knightmares."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about Colonel," Guilford said, using Cornelia's rank for formality purposes in case anyone else was listening. He brought the Vincent Ward to a lower altitude beside Cornelia's Gloucester before he continued. "Who would attack a U.F.N. member nation, especially France? The area has no strategic value and there are no veins of Sakuradite in the country, so why here?"

"You're right Guilford," Cornelia said as she scanned the ground below her Gloucester. Unlike the eastern half of Paris, which was being consumed by a raging inferno, this section of the metropolis was relatively untouched. There were a few isolated pillars of smoke but otherwise this section of Paris was unscathed. That meant unless the enemy's main force hadn't descended in the middle of the city, something Cornelia figured was impossible based on the frames that she had seen in the newsreel, the enemy commander was somewhere below.

"Attention all Black Knights!" She called out over the regiment comm channel. "The enemy commander has more than likely held back from the main attack and is probably hiding below us. Capture their leader and this battle is over!" A chorus of positive answers filled the regiment channel as the Gloucester and Akatsuki Knightmares descended into the city. The VTOL-using Sutherlands continued to follow their Float-equipped counterparts in the sky, conserving the energy of their Knighmares for combat.

Suddenly a burst of blue energy zoomed past the front of Cornelia's Gloucester, missing the cockpit by mere centimeters. She yanked back on her controls out of instinct. That instinct saved her life. "What the hell?" Cornelia shouted as her Knightmare lurched backward in midair as a second lance of blue energy shot past her Knightmare and nearly hit Guilford's Vincent. Cornelia raised an eyebrow as the smell of ozone leaked into her cockpit.

"Enemy ambush!" She shouted over the regiment frequency. Suddenly a third burst of energy hit a Sutherland VTOL at the tail of the formation. But this shot came from the opposite direction of the first two shots. The VTOL and Sutherland went into a death-spiral and collided with the two VTOL-Sutherlands in front of it, destroying all three at once.

"Snipers!" Guilford shouted over an open channel, "GET DOWN!" His Vincent dived toward the ground and was quickly followed by Cornelia's Gloucester. The Sutherland units detached from their VTOLs as fast as possible. Guilford grimaced inside his Vincent as he watched a Sutherland get its cockpit blasted apart in midair right after it detached from its VTOL. The Sutherland imploded, taking its VTOL with it as it fell to the ground in a blazing fireball.

"This is Colonel Cornelia li Britannia of the Black Knights!" Cornelia shouted over an open channel, "Are there any Euro Universe forces left?!"

* * *

**La Défense Business District**

**04:13 hours MST**

**August 11th, 2020 a.t.b.**

Morrighan smiled as her _Vulture_ picked up Cornelia's transmission. She tightened her grip on the controls as the bird-like feet of the 10 meter tall Battlemech cautiously walked down the street, leaving large three-toed footprints in the tarmac as it moved toward the Black Knights' location. Belinda's _Uziel_ was headed in the same direction, using her 'Mech's jump jets to get to the rooftops and approaching from above. She'd ordered Madde to take her _Mad Cat_ and destroy the EU's G-1 Mobile Command center.

"Puma Lead, this is Oracle." Morrighan said as she activated the comm, "Give me a sitrep."

"Oracle, this is Longshot," Puma Lead replied through a burst of static, "We've got the Black Knight force pinned down five blocks south of your position."

"Good." Morrighan said as she increased the throttle, sending her _Vulture_ into a run as it turned the corner. She flipped the safeties off her 'Mech's weapon systems. If Puma Lead was correct, then taking on the entire Black Knight force wasn't going to be a fight. It would be a bloodbath.

* * *

**Southwestern outskirts of La Défense Business District**

**04:14 hours MST**

**August 11th, 2020 a.t.b.**

"Damn it!" Cornelia swore as her Gloucester hit the pavement. "Commander Renard!" She barked at the squad leader of what was left of the Sutherland forces, "Have your men use the streets as cover. Find the Knightmares that shot at us and take them out!"

"Yes sir!" Renard replied. His grey Sutherland accelerated past Cornelia and Guilford with twenty normal Sutherlands in tow. Cornelia watched Renard's Sutherland skid to a halt in the center of the intersection in front of the Black Knights and turn to the left, its rifle raised.

"What the-?" the commander didn't have a chance to finish his statement as a barrage of missiles slammed into his Knightmare, tearing it apart. A few Sutherlands that had trailing the late commander closely were caught in the barrage and annihilated as well.

"What was that?" Cornelia shouted in shock. She watched the remaining Sutherlands stop where their late commander had been standing before he was blown to bits and immediately started firing down the street the missiles had come from. Bolts of green energy slammed into the nearest Sutherland, blowing its head off and turning the cockpit into Swiss cheese before the pilot could eject. _'Useless weaklings!'_ Cornelia thought as she engaged the throttle for her Gloucester's landspinners and shot toward the intersection. She'd deal with this threat herself.

"Cornelia wait!" Guilford shouted to his superior over the comm as his Vincent Aircraft Commander glided after Cornelia's Gloucester. "We have no idea the number of enemies we're up against!"

"It doesn't matter!" Cornelia retorted, "Either we attack them head on or our forces will be decimated!"

* * *

**Eastern Outskirts of Paris**

**04:15 hours MST**

"Can anyone hear me? This is Warrant Officer Udo Karlmann of the Paris E.U. defense force requesting immediate assistance!" The EU warrant officer's voice cracked as he repeated the distress call from inside the command center of the E.U.'s G-1 base. His superior, Lieutenant Jacobs, sat in the command chair, fidgeting uncontrollably. Given the situation, Jacob's actions were perfectly understandable.

Seven minutes ago the buildings around them had spontaneously burst into flames, sending up a massive smokescreen that made direct visual contact impossible. Then the sixteen Panzer-Hummels that had been assigned to defend the G-1 started dropping like flies off the tactical map. Within two minutes the G-1 was completely defenseless except for its own turrets.

Then the noise started. Loud thud sounds, eerily similar to gigantic footsteps, began to echo around the G-1 base. The noises sent a wave of terror through the staff on board the G-1. At least one person tried to escape using the Knightmare catapult system in a Panzer-Hummel, only to be presumably destroyed by the same thing that was making the thud noises. The Lieutenant had tried to contact Major Eckhard, but something was jamming their communications.

"This is Warrant Officer Udo Karlmann of the Paris E.U. defense force! If anyone can hear me, please respond!" The Warrant Officer was getting desperate. Then he noticed something. The noise had stopped. Suddenly the comm channel opened with a burst of static.

"This is Mercenary Commander Angelika Kriemhild," said a seductive female voice over the sound-only comm channel, much to the relief of both the Lieutenant and Warrant Officer, "What seems to be the problem boys?"

"Thank goodness!" Karlmann gasped, "The EU Paris Defense force G-1 is under attack by assailants of unknown origin! Our coordinates are—"

"I know the coordinates," 'Kriemhild' said coldly as the thud noises started again. "Who do you think was behind the attack?" Suddenly a massive gust of wind blew the smoke away. The source of the thudding sound, the 10.5 meter tall _Mad Cat_, stood menacingly in front of the G-1.

"Ciao." The female's voice said as the _Mad Cat_ initiated an alpha strike, annihilating the G-1 instantly.

"Grandmaster, this is Playmate reporting in," Madde Irmalinda called over a voice-only comm channel, "Target eliminated. The EU Major just lost his G-1."

"Excellent work Playmate," Tamhas' voice replied, "Consider this mission complete. The _Krieg Chessboard_ will arrive soon to retrieve my Red Army."

* * *

**Southwestern outskirts of La Défense Business District**

Morrighan smirked as she threw the throttle on her _Vulture_ into reverse and began backpedaling away from the advancing Gloucester. Based on the intel that she'd been provided, the Gloucester attacking her was piloted by none other than Cornelia li Britannia herself. Morrighan tightened her grip on the controls and pulled the trigger for her the medium and large pulse lasers.

Four neon green laser bolts shot out of the four cannons that served as the _Vulture_'s forearms. Fortunately for Cornelia Morrighan's aim was low and the pulse lasers nailed her Gloucester 's left leg, which instantly turned it into molten slag.

"Damn it!" Morrighan cursed as her Vulture's speed increased as it continued running backwards. Suddenly the radar proximity alarm in her 'Mech started blaring and Morrighan's head looked out of the cockpit window and saw Guilford's Vincent Aircraft Commander dropping down from above, its MVS double-blade lance aimed directly for the cockpit. "Oh shit!" She shouted and yanked the control stick to the left.

Guilford watched with grim satisfaction as his Vincent dropped toward the strange Knightmare, its MVS double-blade lance aimed directly at the top of the Knightmare. Guilford assumed that was where the Knightmare's cockpit was located. If he could eliminate the pilot, then Cornelia would be safe.

Guilford eyebrows shot upward in surprise as the strange Knightmare suddenly lurched to the left just before his Vincent stabbed one end of its lance into what was definitely the cockpit. Instead, the blade sunk into the top missile tube in the Knightmare's right shoulder. The momentum from Guilford's attack slammed his Vincent into the massive Knightmare's torso. The force of the blow knocked the enemy Knightmare on its back with Guilford's Vincent on top of the Knightmare's right missile rack.

"Surrender!" Guilford shouted over an open comm channel as he activated the electric Needle Blazer in his Vincent's left elbow. "You're finished!"

Morrighan sat in the _Vulture_'s cockpit, stunned. The neurohelmet linked her sense of balance directly with that of her 'Mech, and Guilford's attack had caused her to black out for a few seconds from the shock. "Uhh…" She groaned as Guilford's voice brought her back to reality. She opened her eyes and looked out the cockpit window and saw the Vincent's Needle Blazer poised to smash through her cockpit. "Of all the enemies to knock my 'Mech off its feet, I get the self-righteous prick Britannian." She grumbled. She shifted her weight in the cockpit's chair and glared out the window at the head of the Knightmare that had her Vulture pinned down.

"Hmm?" Guilford said as his Vincent's factspheres opened. The cockpit of the strange Knightmare seemed to be made of a glass-like material. He couldn't make out the details of the pilot, but he was certain of one thing: the pilot was definitely female.

Suddenly two bursts of machinegun fire pounded into the back of his Vincent. "What?!" Guilford said in shock as his Knightmare whirled round to face another strangely-shaped Knightmare perched atop a nearby building. It lacked the conventional Knightmare arms, sporting massive cannons in their place. The machineguns were in its torso, firing from what Guilford assumed were the shoulders.

"Another enemy?" Cornelia muttered as her Gloucester was helped to its feet by an Akatsuki unit. "Guilford, capture the pilot of that Knightmare." She said as her Gloucester raised its assault rifle.  
"All units, open fire!" She ordered and fired off a salvo at the 8-meter tall engine of destruction.

"Heh," Belinda grinned as she activated her _Uziel_'s arm-mounted Particle Projector Cannons. She fired the left arm first, obliterating two Akatsuki Knightmares with one shot. She fired her 'Mech's right arm point-blank into a Gloucester that had tried to impale her 'Mech with its lance. "Easy kill." She opened a comm link to Morrighan on an open frequency. "Guten Abend Oberst Oracle!"

"Evening Amazon," Morrighan laughed as she keyed in the firing sequence for her 'Mech's left shoulder-mounted LRM-20. "Oi cocksucker!" She yelled at Guilford over the open frequency.

"Who is this? Identify yourself!" Guilford demanded as his Vincent raised its Needle Blazer over the _Vulture_'s cockpit.

"Here's a hint," Morrighan snapped, "GET THE FUCK OFF MY 'MECH!" Twenty missiles blasted past Guilford's Vincent, missing the Knightmare by mere centimeters. The Vincent leapt off the _Vulture_ and landed beside Cornelia's Gloucester. "That was too close." Morrighan muttered to herself as she switched off the comm. "If he hadn't dodged…"

"So Black Knights," Belinda laughed as her _Uziel_ ignited its jump jets and landed beside Morrighan's _Vulture_ as the heavier 'Mech got to its feet. "Ready to give up?"

"Shut up," Cornelia grumbled as her Gloucester raised its assault rifle again.

Suddenly there was a large boom and a massive projectile slammed into the ground between the Black Knights and the strange Knightmares. Cornelia looked up and saw gigantic egg-shaped ship hovering over Paris. It slowly began to descend into the city north of their current position.

"Looks like we'll have to finish this battle some other time," Morrighan said as her _Vulture_ turned and started walking down the street toward the massive ship. "Adieu cocksucker." She added over the open comm, taunting Guilford directly and indirectly taunting Cornelia at the same time.

Suddenly Tamhas' visage popped up on Morrighan's vidcom. He was wearing a blood full-head mask that was quite similar to the one Zero had worn, except that it was shaped like the three-pronged head of the King piece in chess. "Oracle, return to the _Krieg_ _Chessboard_ and suit up. Our boss is going to make a world-wide announcement."

"Yes sir," Morrighan replied and pushed the throttle on her _Vulture_ forward and increased her speed toward the dropship.

**

* * *

**

**An orange farm, California**

**19:41 hours MST**

**August 11th, 2020 a.t.b.**

Jeremiah Gottwald sat inside the living room of the farm house, watching the newsreel footage of the battle in Paris with intense interest on a small TV. Anya Alstreim sat in a small armchair opposite him, fiddling with her camera-phone. Anya looked up briefly at the TV and snapped a picture for her blog.

"It's strange," Jeremiah said suddenly, catching Anya off-guard.

"Hmm?" Anya asked as she tilted her head to right. "What is it Jeremiah?"

"This whole attack isn't like anything I've seen," Jeremiah said as he interlaced his fingers together as if he was praying and rested his hands under his chin. "It almost seems as if someone was running a field test with these strange Knightmares. But the location's wrong, it would've attracted less attention if they tested those machines in an open area. Whoever orchestrated this attack wanted to make a statement."


	4. Chapter 3: Declaration of War

**Siberia, Russia**

**18:53 hours MST**

**August 12th, 2020 a.t.b.**

Tamhas Wotan stood erect as the lift slowed to a halt. He glanced over at Morrighan Agrona from behind the blood red, king-piece-shaped, full head mask he was wearing. He wore a matching blood red military uniform that bore the insignia of the king piece on his left shoulder, a symbol of his rank. Morrighan wore a blood red uniform as well, the insignia of the queen piece emblazoned on her left shoulder. Unlike her superior, Morrighan wore a simple face-concealing visor.

"Something wrong Colonel?" Tamhas asked his subordinate as they stepped off the lift into an enormous amphitheater. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could sense Morrighan's nervousness. In fact, he could hear it in her thoughts.

"Nothing," Morrighan lied in reply as the duo started walking down a flight of steps leading to center stage. She looked ahead of her and spotted three people standing near the edge of the stage. "It looks like we're late."

"Actually, you're right on time." A taunting voice whispered next to Morrighan, who immediately felt a hand grab her ass.

"PERVERT!!" Morrighan shouted and lashed out with her right hand into the face of the man who had just grabbed her.

"Tiwaz Maximillian I presume," Tamhas said as he turned to face the newcomer. The 5'11, orange-haired European stood behind Morrighan, rubbing the palm-print on his cheek. He wore a black military uniform similar to the one worn by the Britannian military with one exception: each shoulder pad had a gold skull-like insignia emblazoned on it.

"In the flesh," Tiwaz replied as he slicked back his spiky orange hair and walked down the stairs. When he turned to face Tamhas and Morrighan they could see his eyes plain as day. Each eye bore a red sigil in it.

_'So he has Geass,'_ Tamhas thought with a smirk that was concealed by his mask. _'Well, the Supreme Commander __**does **__have an entire division devoted to the study and -'_

"If you three are done fooling around up there we have work to do!" A woman's voice shouted from the stage. The voice belonged to a woman that looked like she belonged in a Nazi War room. Her uniform looked almost exactly identical to a Nazi commander with the sole difference being that her black armband had a two-toned caricature of a German Sheppard bearing its teeth. She stared at Tiwaz, Tamhas and Morrighan from underneath the brim of her officer's cap as they approached the stage.

That was when Morrighan noticed the woman's rather busty figure. _'Who is this woman?'_ Morrighan thought.

"General Rebekka Walburga of the Dogs of War," Tamhas said aloud, half-answering Morrighan's thoughts, half-addressing the General. "It's an honor to meet such a high-profile mercenary."

"You're one to talk," Rebekka replied coolly as she folded her arms across her chest. "Grandmaster."

"And Hermann Crocifisso, leader of the Agents of Nostradamus mercenary corporation," Tamhas said as he turned to the second person on the stage.

The 6'4" German-Sicilian was a head taller than General Walburga and dressed in a clean brown uniform with a hooded cloak hanging around his shoulders. He seemed to stare right through Tamhas with his electric blue eyes. "Good evening Grandmaster. I assume you've already met the man that's hired us."

"Of course," Tamhas' masked head nodded as he stepped on to the stage to face third figure. Morrighan took a seat in the front row, making sure to keep Tiwaz at a safe distance.

The hooded figure stood at about 6 feet and wore a black hooded cape that concealed its identity. A bar of neon green appeared where its eyes should have been and data began to scroll across it. There was a hiss of steam and the hood billowed forward to reveal a large gas mask that covered the figure's lower face.

"Supreme Commander," Tamhas said as he gave the figure a crisp three-finger salute. "Did you enjoy watching the heathen scum burning earlier today?"

"Affirmative," the mysterious figure answered, his voice containing an almost robotic quality due to the voice synthesizer installed the gas mask. "Now sit down, all of you. The other participants will be arriving shortly." Then the figure turned and walked behind the stage's massive curtain.

Morrighan glanced around and spotted another man standing off at a distance. From what she could tell the man was Russian. The middle-aged man was dressed in a black coat that resembled some sort of religious garb and had a thin black beard that outlined his square jaw. She immediately turned her head away as the man's hawk-like gaze came towards her seat. _'Who is that?'_ She thought.

"That is Melor Kazimir," Tamhas said as he took a seat next to Morrighan, "The man behind the creation of the Battlemech."

Morrighan turned her head toward Tamhas and crossed her arms in annoyance. "That creepy vicar lookalike is the brains behind my _Vulture_?" She asked in a skeptical tone.

"He designed the first Battlemech, and has had a hand in almost every Battlemech design since," Tamhas said as he placed his hands behind his masked head and leaned back in his seat. "Now then Q-1, why don't we just sit back and enjoy the show."

* * *

**12:00 hours MST**

At the stroke of noon Greenwich Mean Time, every television in the world cut to static. Then suddenly Astaroth appeared on every television screen standing behind a black podium, the neon green bar over his eyes glowing brighter than ever. Then he spoke.

"People of Earth, hear me!"

"Throughout history, humanity has marched to the drum of war. There has never been a time in history when humanity was engaged in war on this planet. The illusion of 'peace' that occurs between wars is merely a time of suffering."

"For many of us war is a way of life. We simply live to fight. We thrive in war. It is our home, our society, our very soul."

"Peace is evil."

"Peace is an evil that weakens mankind as a whole. It allows the unworthy to survive; to reproduce and spoil the human race with their weaknesses. The very peace that existed until two days ago was a poison against the human race."

"A poison that I have cured."

"I was the one who ordered the attack on the city of Paris. Not for military victory or strategic value, but to rid the world of a hideout for the weak."

"And now I, Astaroth, declare war on the world and everyone in it."

"My armies and I are the Will of Ares, and we shall bathe this world in blood!"

With that, the televisions cut back to static before returning to their original programs.

* * *

**Zen Buddhist Temple, Somewhere in rural Japan**

**21:32 hours MST**

**August 12th, 2020 a.t.b.**

"Damn it!" Lelouch cursed and slammed his hand into the wall. He was inside his sleeping quarters in the temple, having received his own personal room as a gift from the head monk. "He's ruined everything!"

C.C. sat cross-legged on a floor cushion as she watched Lelouch vi Britannia pace back and forth, sulking over the declaration of war that had been issued two hours ago. "This Astaroth destroyed the peace you worked so hard to create for Nunnally. You're supposed to be dead, and Suzaku's taken over the role of Zero completely. What are you going to do Lelouch?"

Lelouch stopped pacing and turned to face C.C. "C2, start packing your things," he said as a smirk formed on his face. "We're leaving the temple tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 4: Old Friends

**New Pendragon, Britannia**

**15:44 hours MST**

**August 13th, 2020 a.t.b.**

Empress Nunnally vi Britannia sat on her wheelchair in the Aries Villa's conference room. Since Schneizel had destroyed Pendragon City using a FLEIJA warhead from the Damocles, Nunnally had decided to use her mother's former residence as her home while Pendragon was being rebuilt.

Six flatscreen computer monitors, arranged in two rows of three, hung from the ceiling front of Nunnally. There had originally been four monitors for long distance communication with UFN representatives, her half brother Odysseus the Minister of Homeland Affairs, Schneizel the Prime Minister, and Cornelia. Two more had been added for Commander Gilbert G.P. Guilford and Lloyd Asplund.

The man wearing Zero's disguise stood behind Nunnally's wheelchair faced the monitors as well. His arms rested at his sides as he stood behind Nunnally's wheelchair in relaxed pose that concealed the anxiety in his mind. Suzaku watched the monitors turn themselves on as the participants in the conference connected with the network. The digital clock at the bottom right screen read 15:45 MST, the time the emergency conference had been scheduled to start.

"Hello Nunnally," Cornelia said as her face appeared on the upper right screen. Her eyes narrowed as she looked over Nunnally's head at Suzaku. "Zero."

"Cornelia," Suzaku and Nunnally said politely and turned their attention to the top-center screen as the tired face of a 17 year old Kaguya Sumeragi, the UFN's Supreme Council Chairman appeared.

"I'm early?" She said as she glanced at the open conference slots on her end. Kaguya was calling into the conference from Shanghai, where it was 4:45 in the morning. The tired leader of the sole remaining world power let out an exasperated sigh.

"Actually you're right on time," Nunnally said with a small smile as she glanced at the two screens below Cornelia and Kaguya. "The others are the late." The second after she spoke the lower left screen flashed on and Lloyd's amused face appeared on the screen.

"Hey Nunnally," the Earl of Pudding greeted the Empress of Britannia in his usual nonchalant manner. He followed up with a brief wave in Zero's direction. Suddenly the screen above Lloyd flashed on and Guilford's face appeared. Shortly after that Odysseus' amiable face appeared on the screen below Kaguya and was quickly followed by Schneizel appearing on the screen below Cornelia.

"Forgive my tardiness," Schneizel said as his image materialized completely on the screen, "but I was just informed of a troubling series of events a few moments ago. It may be connected with the 'Will of Ares'."

"More bad news?" Odysseus said as a weary expression spread across his face. "The people of Britannia are extremely worried about their safety because of this Astaroth's statement to bathe the world in blood. I don't want to announce more frightening news to the people of my homeland. The newsreels keep playing the footage of those unstoppable-"

"They're not unstoppable," Guilford and Cornelia said simultaneously.

Suzaku frowned behind Zero's mask. If it could be connected to the Will of Ares, it was worth knowing about. "Enlighten us about these events Schneizel."

"Of course Zero," Schneizel replied. "As I'm sure all of you are aware after the death of Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia and in the world-wide peace that followed there were no wars to fight. What Astaroth said about war being a way of life for many people was true. The soldier-of-fortune has always been a major player in the world stage, especially in the last decade. There are literally hundreds of mercenary organizations scattered across the globe and all of them were hit hard by the universal abandonment of their lifeblood."

"Two battalion-sized mercenary groups are based here in North America: the Spirit Snatchers and the White Buffalo Irregulars. Both are anti-Britannia due to the fact that both organizations are filled by Native Americans whose tribes were conquered by Britannia in the past. As a precaution I had some of internal security forces set up observation posts near the mercenary bases to keep an eye on them in case they attempted to start a war inside Britannia. There's a brigade-sized company based out of Jamaica called the Kingston Brigade as well, but they have no motive to cause us any harm."

"At Midnight Pacific Standard Time the observation post stationed near the Spirit Snatchers base reported that it something massive was taking off just outside the base perimeter. Then at 02:00 Central Time the observation post near the White Buffalo Irregulars' base reported a similar event. And as of 05:00 this morning the Kingston Brigade has disappeared completely."

"So what you're saying is-" Suzaku started to say.

"That mercenaries are starting to join this 'Will of Ares' organization," Cornelia finished, "I was afraid of that."

"Actually," Guilford said, "I did a little digging and found that the ones who attacked Paris were members of the Grandmaster's Red Army mercenaries."

"Kaguya, how long will it take for the UFN to draft a response?" Nunnally asked the UFN's chairwoman.

"About twenty-four hours," Kaguya replied, "why?"

"Because we don't know how long it will be before this 'Will of Ares' strikes again," Suzaku responded, "Cornelia, Guilford, you will continue to the California base, where your forces will resupply and assist with the defenses. Schneizel, I want you to keep me updated on the movements of any mercenary groups based inside Britannia. Odysseus, you don't have to tell the public anything for now. Just inform them that we're increasing the defenses world wide as a precaution." Suzaku watched with a small smile as Odysseus relaxed. Lelouch's eldest 'brother' had always been a man of simple pleasures.

"Lloyd," He said as he looked at the eccentric head of research and development. "How are the new Knightmares coming along?"

"The Tenth Age's first Knightmare is almost ready for deployment!" Lloyd said cheerfully, "Now if we could just find a pilot…"

"Thank you Lloyd. That will be all," 'Zero' said bluntly, "End transmission."

* * *

"Zero," Nunnally said as she watched Suzaku walk toward the exit, "Do you really think that the California base will be a target for the enemy?"

"I don't know Nunnally," Suzaku said calmly, "I just don't know." With that, he walked out of the conference room.

Suzaku walked quickly down the hall, ignoring the people around him. He had to get some fresh air before he suffocated inside this helmet. _'Just a few more steps,'_ he thought as he walked inside Zero's room and closed the door. He ripped Zero's helmet off his head and breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down on "Zero's" bed. He hated having to pose as Zero all the time. He just couldn't act the same way Lelouch always did.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a rumbling that came from one of his drawers. He opened the drawer and pulled out a small cell phone. The caller ID read 'Lelouch'. If anyone other than Suzaku had picked up the phone they would look like they had seen a ghost. No one except Suzaku knew that Lelouch had gone into hiding in the mountains of Japan. Not even Nunnally. So when Suzaku recognized the caller ID, he simply put the earpiece in and said softly, "Suzaku Kurugi speaking. Go ahead."

"It's been a long time Suzaku," Lelouch's voice replied. Before Suzaku could respond Lelouch cut him off. "It's almost 6 AM here so I'm going to make this short.

I need Zero. You're going to travel to Japan to find a new pilot for a new Lancelot Lloyd is building. The Earl of Pudding is building a new model, am I right?"

"Yes but-"

"Excellent. Look for C2 when you arrive at the airport. She'll take you the rest of the way."

There was a click as Lelouch hung up. Suzaku just stood there, somewhat confused. _'A new pilot…?'_ He thought as he donned Zero's mask once again, _'What did he mean by a new pilot…?'_

* * *

**Southern Fortress Base, Antarctica**

**21:04 GMT**

**August 13th, 2020 a.t.b.**

Tamhas blinked a few times in surprise as the _Krieg Chessboard_'s boarding ramp lowered inside the fortress dock to reveal the hangar it had dropped into from above.

All 125 meters of the egg-shaped, 20,000 ton dropship had easily fit inside a massive hangar carved into the Antarctic ice shelf. "Most impressive Supreme Commander," He said as he turned to Astaroth, who stood next to him, "Perhaps we should show this to the Spirit Snatchers and the White Buffalo Irregulars instead of showing them the Siberian base as proof of our superiority."

"We can't go flaunting one of our greatest assets to people who might stab us in the back at the first chance available Grandmaster," said Severin Reiner, the head of the Geass Research department in the Will of Ares organization. The aging man stood at 6'2" with a white beard that ran across his jaw line and formed a point underneath his chin. Like Tiwaz, he too wore a black uniform with gold shoulder pads, except his uniform had three skulls emblazoned on the shoulders. Both of his eyes had the red sigils of Geass in them.

"Of course not Severin," Tamhas replied coolly as he started down the boarding ramp. He looked up at the ceiling and watched as the massive hangar bay doors closed over the _Chessboard_. Astaroth had spared no expense and made sure that the hangar doors were camouflaged to match the rest of the Antarctic terrain.

"How many mercenaries have joined our glorious cause?" Astaroth asked as he followed Tamhas down the ramp with Severin in tow.

"The Spirit Snatchers and the White Buffalo Irregulars have signed on," Tamhas said coolly as he pulled out a PDA and checked the data, "As well as the Kingston Brigade and The Devil's Rejects. We've yet to get a response from Claymore's Highlanders, the Arabian Division, Brionac's Brothers and the Blue Rooks."

"The Devil's Rejects will be problematic," Severin stated suddenly.

"And you know this…?" Tamhas asked as he turned to face the old man.

"Call it instinct," Severin replied as the sigils in his eyes dimmed.

"The Devil's Rejects are mostly going to be cannon fodder for the next attack anyway," Tamhas said with a smirk. "First we'll see how Zero reacts when we attack his home."


	6. Chapter 5: Reunions

**Tokyo Airport, Japan**

**12:03 MST**

**August 16****th****, 2020 a.t.b.**

When Suzaku stepped off Zero's personal transport he was surprised to find Tohdoh waiting for him. If he wasn't living as Zero he probably would have embraced his old mentor, something he'd longed to do since before the Black Rebellion. "It's been awhile Todhoh," He said as he tried to maintain Zero's calm, collected outward appearance while he broke out in a cold sweat inside Zero's mask.

"It certainly has," Tohdoh replied solemnly and motioned for Suzaku to follow him. "We had better get moving. We still have some people to pick up before we reach Tokyo Command."

"Of course," Suzaku said and casually followed Tohdoh down a tunnel reserved for VIPs that didn't have the time to mingle with the public. Zero was one of those VIPs.

A lot had happened in three days. On August 14th the UFN General Council unanimously condemned the Will of Ares' attack on Paris. The same day UFN member Cuba had its capitol city Havana attacked by the Jamaican mercenary group Kingston Brigade. The local Black Knights had successfully repelled the mercenaries, but something didn't fit. The mercenaries had used Gun-Ru and Panzer-Hummel Knightmares in the attack instead of those "mechs" that had attacked Paris. So did that mean that the Kingston Brigade was imitating the Will of Ares or was there something more sinister behind it?

Suzaku stopped behind Tohdoh as the latter stopped in front of a black limousine. He opened the front door for 'Zero'. Suzaku looked at Tohdoh for a moment before getting inside. Tohdoh got in after and quickly closed the door.

"You can take off the mask Suzaku," he said, scaring Suzaku half to death. "I know you're the one posing as Zero.

"How did you-?" Suzaku started to say before he saw the back of the driver's head and her neon green hair. "C2! You ratted me out?!"

"Lelouch decided it was necessary for someone else to know he was alive," C.C. said coolly, "And Tohdoh had already figured out who you were before I told him."

"It wasn't hard to figure out when I was of the members of the Black Knights that unmasked him the first time," Tohdoh added as C.C. drove the limousine out of the parking lot. "We still have to pick up two more people." He watched as Suzaku pulled off Zero's helmet and a small smirk formed on his face. "You and Lelouch are an interesting duo."

* * *

**Shinjuku Cemetery, Japan**

**12:10 MST**

**August 16****th****, 2020 a.t.b.**

Kallen slowly opened the cemetery gate, slightly paranoid. She had a right to be.

The day before she'd gotten a mysterious call on her phone to go to L. Lamperouge's grave in Shinjuku cemetery. When she demanded to know who was calling, the voice simply replied that she would know the owner of the voice when she saw them.

So now she was dressed in her street clothes which consisted of a tan jacket, a red shirt and a pair of blue jeans, walking between the headstones toward Lelouch's grave.

When she arrived at the grave she stopped and looked at the headstone. It was a large slate one with a gilded inscription. At the top of the headstone an hourglass had been engraved. Kallen's paranoia evaporated as she read the inscription.

Student, brother,

And most of all,

Friend.

Kallen's eyes softened as she read it and she let out a sigh. _'Lelouch, I miss you,'_ she thought to herself as she looked at the headstone a little longer.

"Well that's certainly not something I seen very often from you, Q-1." Lelouch said as he stepped out from behind another headstone nearby. He was dressed in a white dress shirt, a black windbreaker jacket, black slacks and a pair of black shoes.

Kallen's head jerked up in Lelouch's direction as her eyes widened in shock. Her entire body froze, too stunned to move. _'It can't be…'_ she thought, _'I watched you die.'_

"Don't be afraid," Lelouch said as he walked toward Kallen. He reached out and touched her shoulder. "I'm real. And very much alive."

Kallen unfroze as soon Lelouch touched her. Without warning she grabbed Lelouch by the arm and pulled him into a headlock. "How do I know you're the real Lelouch?" She snapped as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her hidden knife. _'With all the recent attacks by the Will of Ares, how do I know this guy isn't an assassin sent to kill me?'_

"How am I going to do that?" Lelouch said as his left hand struggled against Kallen's arm. _'I had a feeling she'd react like this.'_ "Should tell you about how you kissed me inside Ashford Academy before I took the entire UFN hostage?"

Kallen's cheeks started to turn pink at Lelouch's comment, but she didn't loosen her grip. "Anyone could have seen that," She said, starting to doubt her own words, "You'll have to do better than that."

"Is that so?" Lelouch replied as his eyes flickered over in the direction of the cemetery gate. A figure was standing at the entrance. "Then how about the time I saw you naked in the shower at Ashford Academy?"

Kallen's cheeks turned bright red at Lelouch's words. She let go of Lelouch and pocketed her knife. "It really is you…" She said in amazement as Lelouch turned around to face her.

"Yes," Lelouch said as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest, "It is." He gently took hold of her chin and pulled her face up to his. He pulled her lips toward his own, but stopped short of kissing her.

"Kallen," he whispered quickly, "Don't turn your head, but can you see the person at the cemetery gate?"

Kallen glanced toward the gate and saw the figure. His hands were at chest level, and he seemed to be fiddling with something. "Yes," She whispered in reply. "Is he a friend of yours?"

"No." Lelouch replied. "I think he's an assassin sent to kill you." His eyes widened as a thought crossed his mind. "Kallen, did you tell anyone you were coming here?"

"No," Kallen replied, "I just told Conley I was going off-campus for awhile."

"New friend?" Lelouch asked as he watched the figure stop fiddling with whatever he was holding.

"Sort of. He joined the university last year. He's on the Student Council with me, Rivalz and Gino."

"Interesting," Lelouch said as he focused on the figure. Then he saw the figure aim a foot-long tube at them. Without warning he forced Kallen into a kiss and pulled her to the ground. Two seconds later a bullet hole appeared in the lower half of the hourglass on Lelouch's tombstone, slate exploding outward from the impact. Lelouch quickly broke the kiss and pressed a finger against her lips to stop her from demanding an explanation. He could see that her cheeks had turned bright red from what had just happened.

"Shh," He whispered and pointed up at the bullet hole. "Listen." He heard the cemetery gate open and someone muttering curses in Russian.

* * *

Tohdoh and Suzaku were nearly thrown out of their seats when C2 suddenly made a hard left on the nearly deserted Shinjuku streets. "C2 what are you doing?!" Suzaku yelled at the green-haired woman as he helped Tohdoh up.

"There are three suspicious vehicles that have been tailing us since we left the airport." C.C. replied in her usual stoic voice. "Two more vehicles joined them when we entered Shinjuku. I am trying to lose them."

"Tohdoh, did you arrange for an escort?" Suzaku asked his mentor, slightly uncertain about C.C.'s sanity.

"No," Tohdoh replied, "We already draw unwanted attention to ourselves because we're using a limo. An escort would just increase that attention." He turned to C.C. "C2, what vehicles is the enemy driving?"

"The three vehicles that followed us from the airport are sedans of varying color with blacked-out windows. I don't know what the other two vehicles are, but they look military-based."

"Mercenaries," Tohdoh grimaced.

Suzaku looked directly at Tohdoh. "You think that the Will of Ares has-" He was cut short when something pinged off the bullet-proof rear window behind where he sat.

"They are shooting at us now." C.C. said in an I-told-you-so voice as she yanked the wheel to the left.


	7. Chapter 6: Introductions

**Abandoned parking building next to Shinjuku Cemetery, Japan**

**12:16 MST**

**August 16****th****, 2020 a.t.b.**

Tamhas sat inside the four-seater cockpit of the VTOL, dressed in his Grandmaster costume. The two other occupants of the VTOL were the pilot, "Fox", whose real name was Modya Ivan, and the spotter/comm officer "Bear" aka Anton Nikita. Both of them were Russian mercenaries from The Devil's Rejects. The three of them were waiting for the fourth member of the team, Dmitri Borislav aka "Farmer", to return from assassinating Kallen Kozuki, and if need be, her mysterious contact.

Fox, Bear nor Farmer had told Tamhas their real identity. He had learned them by reading their minds out of sheer boredom en route to the VTOL's current location on top of the abandoned parking building next to the Shinjuku Cemetery.

As the Grandmaster Tamhas had ordered Farmer to assassinate Kallen Kozuki on board the _Krieg Chessboard_. The massive dropship along with the army of Battlemechs inside its belly was currently hovering in formation with a trio of smaller dropships at the edge of stratosphere above the east coast of Russia.

Farmer, a six foot tall, stocky middle-age Russian with a full beard and a buzz cut, had voiced his displeasure at the thought of killing a woman in mourning, especially a woman so young. Tamhas had probed his mind and discovered that not only was Farmer a married man, but his eldest daughter was nineteen. Tamhas had also learned that Farmer's family lived off his pay as a soldier-for-hire. So the Grandmaster convinced Farmer with the promise of a very large bonus for killing Miss Kozuki with a shot through her heart.

After quelling the doubts of the assassin the Grandmaster gave the squad of men he'd hired from The Devil's Rejects orders to kill Zero as he was going through Shinjuku. These men were the same group that was attacking "Zero", Tohdoh and C.C. at that very moment. He'd asked the Badger aka Edgar Dax, leader of The Devil's Rejects, for sixteen of his average mercenaries.

In the big scheme of things Tamhas wanted Zero to survive the encounter with the mercenaries he'd sent to kill the Leader of the Black Knights. He just needed them to stall Zero long enough for Farmer to kill the Black Knights best pilot. When that happened he wanted to be around to see Zero's rage and despair.

The reason the Grandmaster told Fox land so close to Shinjuku Cemetery early that morning for two reasons: first, he wanted to make this job a quick in-out one for Farmer; two, he wanted to hear Miss Kozuki's last thoughts.

When Bear, a 6'7 muscular and balding man spotted Kozuki approaching the Shinjuku Cemetery at five after the stroke of noon, the Grandmaster silently watched as Farmer loaded his Welrod silenced pistol.

"Take this," the Grandmaster had said before Farmer had left the VTOL to carry out his mission. He handed Dmitri a small clear earpiece with a mic attached. "Stay in contact," He had said. Farmer had nodded as he inserted the earpiece in his left ear and walked down the VTOL's boarding ramp.

Back to the present.

The Grandmaster casually got out of his seat and stood up. He pointed at Bear, who was seated in the co-pilot's seat with an assault rifle in his lap. "Bear, you're coming with me," He said as he twirled a red king piece in his free hand, "Farmer's way in over his head." He pocketed the chess piece and pulled out a black cell phone.

"Hello Butler," He said as he watched Bear exit the VTOL, "Move the _Chessboard_ and formation above Tokyo and drop down for a close-up." Tamhas smiled at the affirmative reply on other end. "Excellent. That will be all." He shut off the cell phone and picked up the cruciform sword that sat beside his seat. He attached the sword's red scabbard to his belt and quickly followed Bear down the ramp.

* * *

**Shinjuku Cemetery**

**12:17 MST**

Lelouch slowly got to his knees, keeping an eye out for the assassin as he helped Kallen up off the ground. The muttering had stopped. _'This guy at least knows what he's doing,'_ Lelouch thought as he quietly crawled along the grass along the gravel pathway. He looked back at Kallen and whispered, "He's after you. Hide." Then he heard the sound of shoes stepping onto the gravel and looked up into the barrel of the assassin's gun.

'_Damnit.'_ He thought as he examined the assassin's face and noticed the pair of thin mirrored sunglasses he was wearing. Geass wouldn't save Lelouch now and he was certain the assassin would pull the trigger if he made any sudden movements. _'Not good.'_

The unusual gun shook unsteadily and assassin hesitated. It looked to Lelouch as if he was debating whether or not to shoot. _'It seems I gave this guy too much-'_ his thoughts were interrupted as the shaking in the gun abruptly ceased and the cold steel of the gun barrel was pressed against his forehead. _'Great. Now I'm going to find out how C2 felt when she got shot in the head.'_

"I wish this didn't-" the assassin started to say, but he was cut off by Kallen's shoe as it struck his gun hand, knocking the gun off-target. At the same time the assassin pulled the trigger on the gun and it let out a muted pop that blew a hole in grass next to Lelouch's head. Kallen's foot was followed by a swift punch to the jaw that knocked the assassin to the ground.

"Thanks for being the bait," Kallen said with a smirk as Lelouch got to his feet. She looked back at the assassin to see the gun pointed directly at her heart. Lelouch instantly lashed out with one foot and kicked the gun hand away. He followed through with a second kick to the man's gut, knocking the wind out of the assassin.

"Now we're even," Lelouch replied as he kicked the gun off into the grass.

* * *

"This is Tohdoh Kyoshiro calling for immediate reinforcements!" Tohdoh yelled into the comm link as another string of bullets hit the side of the limo. The mercenaries were armed with machineguns at the very least, but given the fact that they had two armored personnel carriers meant they probably had more powerful weapons at hand.

"On your left C2!" Suzaku yelled as one of the sedans, a black one, pulled up on the limo's left. A figure wearing a ski mask and tinted goggles opened his window and pointed his machine gun at C.C.'s window.

"Eat lead!" The man yelled and fired point-blank…at nothing. C.C. quickly decreased speed and the limo shot backward, slamming into the blue sedan behind them. The sedan's front

"One down," C.C. said as she yanked the wheel left and slammed the limousine into the black sedan's right rear wheel. The sedan spun to the right and C.C. rammed it with the front of the limo. "Two down." She said as she turned the wheel right and pulled the limousine away from the sedan, which skidded sideways, then flipped over twice before it finally stopped by slamming into a light post. C.C. accelerated away from the final sedan and the two APCs. The three merc vehicles slowed to a stop and didn't follow the limo.

"Tohdoh, this is Chiba Nagisa." The sole remaining member of the Four Holy Swords called out over the comm. "I have the coordinates of the limo and I am en route to escort you to the Black Knights HQ."

"Negative Chiba," Tohdoh replied over the comm, "Our attackers just stopped following us. I think our chauffeur broke their spirit after smashing two of their cars."

* * *

Kallen grabbed a dazed Dmitri Borislav aka Farmer by the collar. "Alright, out with it!" She demanded as she pulled the middle-aged Russian off the ground. "Who sent you?!" She placed the blade of her hidden knife to Farmer's throat. Lelouch stood beside her, watching with a calm expression.

"P-please d-don't k-k-kill me," the assassin stammered as Kallen pressed the blade against his throat, "I-It w-w-was j-just a j-j-job. M-my family l-l-lives off m-my pay-"

"A likely story!" Kallen snapped angrily. "Who was it?!" She pressed the blade against Farmer's throat as she pulled him to his knees. "WHO?!"

Lelouch raised any eyebrow at Kallen's voice. Her voice contained an unbridled rage he hadn't heard from the ace of the Black Knights before. Well, more unbridled rage than normal anyway. _'Poor guy looks like he's going to piss himself,'_ He thought as he looked at the petrified face of their would-be assassin. _'It'd be easier to get the information if I used my Geass.'_ Lelouch thought. He turned as he heard a pair footsteps approach them.

"I know who hired Mister Dmitri Borislav to kill you Miss Kozuki," Tamhas said in a casual tone as walked toward Lelouch, Kallen and Dmitri with his left hand on the pommel of his sword's hilt. "Because the one who hired him was me."

Bear walked up beside Tamhas with his assault rifle held at loosely in his hands. The balding mercenary had a look of confusion on his face at the Grandmaster's use of Farmer's real name, but remained he silent.

"Now if you don't mind, I'd like the unfortunate hit-man to stay alive, which, given the current situation, doesn't appear like you're going to let happen," Tamhas said coolly as he gestured with his right hand in Farmer's direction. "Now I have two options for you Miss Kozuki. The first is you let the man go, he leaves with the other mercenary and nobody dies. The other one is my mercenary friend taking his big nasty assault rifle and blows both you and your boyfriend's pretty lil' heads off."

Kallen glared at the masked figure for a few seconds before she released her death-grip on Farmer's collar and sheathed her knife. The Russian dropped to his hands and knees, grasping his neck to make sure she hadn't cut it open.

"Hey Farmer," Tamhas said loud enough to get the Russian's attention. "Get your gun and scram." He turned to Bear as Farmer walked over to his Welrod silenced pistol and picked it up off the grass. "Take Farmer back to the ship and tell Fox to start running diagnostics." He ordered. "I'm going to have a little chat with Miss Kozuki and her friend here."

Bear nodded and followed Farmer as the latter past Tamhas on his way to the cemetery gate. Tamhas turned and watched as the two mercenaries exited the cemetery. It wasn't until Bear closed the cemetery gate behind him that he turned to face Kallen and Lelouch.

"Now then, where were we?" He said as he stroked his chin through his three-pronged full-head mask and tilted his head upward toward the sky. His left hand remained on the pommel of his sword as he became lost in thought.

"Sorry to interrupt," Lelouch said as he walked towards Tamhas and stopped within five feet of the Grandmaster. "But I don't believe we were introduced. I am Lo-"

"Lelouch vi Britannia," Tamhas said aloud, cutting Lelouch off in mid-syllable, "also known as Lelouch Lamperouge. And up until two years ago you were the man behind the mask of Zero." He stopped stroking his chin and looked straight at Lelouch's face, which was petrified with shock.

Kallen's body stiffened as Tamhas revealed Lelouch's identity with ease. _'How could he possibly know all that about Lelouch without even knowing his name?'_ She thought. Then her eyes narrowed as she reopened her knife, _'It doesn't matter. Whoever this person is he know too much about Lelouch. He needs to die. __**Now**__.'_ She started to walk toward Tamhas with her knife clutched in her right hand. _'I just need to get close enough…'_

"Fraulein Kozuki, I would advise against trying to attack me with that toy," Tamhas said without bothering to look in her direction. He shifted his sword up and down with his left hand and added, "This sword isn't just for show." After a few seconds Kallen put her knife back in her jacket pocket.

Lelouch's face suddenly became calm. _'Wait a moment. There's only one way that this person could know who I was before I even told him.'_ He thought as the image of the one man who had made his life a living hell. Mao. The man before him seemed to have the same ability as Mao did, which meant only one thing. "_Geass_," Lelouch spat, his voice filled with scorn.

"Well done!" Tamhas said cheerily, applauding in exactly the same pose Mao had. "You figured out I have a Geass. Good for you!"

"Yes, but neither Kallen nor I know who you are," Lelouch stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I was wondering when you'd ask," Tamhas replied in amusement as he step back and gave a sweeping bow. "The Grandmaster is honored to make your acquaintance." After he rose from the bow he pulled out his red king chess piece from his right jacket pocket and began to twirl it between the fingers of his left hand. "For notoriety purposes I should inform you that I am the commanding officer of the Grandmaster's Red Army, the same mercenary army that annihilated Paris." He added.

"So you're a member of the Will of Ares?" Lelouch asked. _'This guy likes to talk a lot.'_ Lelouch thought, _'Perhaps I can get some kind of information about the location of their main base from him.'_

Luckily for Lelouch, Tamhas' Geass could not only hear the thoughts of those around him, he could tune them out at will. Tamhas' had decided that in the spirit of Caïssa, the goddess of chess, and the spirit of fair play he'd tune out for the rest of the conversation with Lelouch and Kallen. "In a manner of speaking," he said in reply to Lelouch's question. Then he turned to a different topic entirely. "Could I interest you in a casual game of chess?"

"What?" Lelouch said, caught completely off guard. "Chess?"

"Yes," Tamhas replied as he tapped the right side of his mask. "Chess." He activated the comm linked with the _Krieg Chessboard_ and said aloud, "Butler, you may begin the invasion."

Lelouch looked up at the sky in shock as the massive rockets on the underside of the _Krieg Chessboard_ burned through the cloud cover. The smaller rockets of the three smaller spherical dropships formed a triangle that surrounded the massive dropship. "You bastard!" Lelouch shouted. In a blind fury he threw a wild punch at Tamhas' mask. Tamhas' caught Lelouch's fist with his left hand and yanked Lelouch to the left and down. At the same time he brought his left knee up and slammed it into Lelouch's gut.

"Lelouch!" Kallen shouted as she dashed toward her fallen superior. "Get the hell away from him you basta-" She stopped when she found the tip of the Grandmaster's sword an inch away from her neck.

"Let me finish please," Tamhas said in annoyance before he squatted next to a gasping Lelouch. "The battlefield is Tokyo. The chess pieces are your Black Knights and my own Red Army. May the best player win."

With that the Grandmaster got to his feet and walked out of the cemetery.


	8. Chapter 7: Opening Moves

**Western edge of Tokyo**

**19:43 MST  
August 16****th**** 2020 a.t.b.**

Morrighan increased the throttle on her _Vulture_ and charged down the street, three Akatsuki Knightmares right on her tail in delta formation. "That's right boys," She muttered as she passed the hidden duo of seven meter tall, 40 ton _Raptor II_ Battlemechs and slowed her own 60 ton Mech to a halt at the end of the street. "Three…two…one…" She said as she turned her Mech around to face the attacking Knightmares.

Two claw-like devices appeared seemingly out of thin air on both sides of the street and latched onto the heads of the Akatsukis on both wings of the formation. The Knightmares were suddenly zapped with an ungodly amount of electricity that fried every electronic device inside the Knightmares and electrocuted the pilots.

"Goodbye," Morrighan said with an air of satisfaction as she turned the remaining Akatsuki into molten slag with her Pulse lasers.

"Nice work Skippy. Same goes for you Worm." She said as the two 7 meter tall avian-like mechs deactivated their Void Signature Systems and materialized beside their 'kills'.

"Eh," Worm grunted in reply as his _Raptor II_ turned to face Morrighan's _Vulture_. "I preferred my _Firefly_ to this flightless, over-glorified taser."

"It's not any different than the Akatsukis we've been disabling for the past _seven hours_," Skippy stated. Morrighan sighed at the anxiousness of the two mercenary pilots, even if they did have a valid point.

Morrighan's attention was suddenly taken from the whining of the subordinate pilots as she heard the familiar plodding sound of another Mech approaching. She turned the torso of her mech toward the approaching 45 ton, 7.5 meter tall _Shadow Cat_ coming toward her.

"Hello Oracle," the pilot said over the mech's voice comm. "The GM sent out an all high-ranking personnel to head to the Chessboard's landing site. I'm here to take your place running the gauntlet."

"Your Mech had better be fast," Morrighan warned, "Those Akatsuki Knightmares aren't exactly the easiest thing to outrun." She pushed the throttle forward and her _Vulture_ took off toward the _Krieg Chessboard_'s landing site.

* * *

As soon as Tamhas was off the ground, the Grandmaster's Red Army immediately deployed the thirty-six medium and heavy mechs from inside the _Krieg Chessboard_'s mech bays. The massive egg-shaped dropship had remained airborne over the city as the Mechs dropped from the dropship's open hatches and used disposable thrusters to slow their descent into the city. Madde, Belinda and Morrighan's Battlemechs had been deployed in the same fashion.

The _Chessboard_ had also housed a special Battlemech that belonged to the Red Army's second Major, a wiry albino teenager who only went by "Spook". It had been deployed as well. Two more Battlemechs remained in the _Chessboard_'s mech bays. One belonged to Tàmhas himself and the other belonged to the group's third Major, a 48 year old man named Norman "Butler" Archibald.

After it had deployed the BattleMechs at the western fringe of Tokyo just inside the Shinjuku area, the Krieg Chessboard landed just outside of Tokyo, incinerating the suburbs it landed on beneath its rockets. The three smaller dropships landed around it and established a defensive perimeter. That location had become the nigh-impregnable field base of GM's Red Army.

* * *

**Black Knights Japan HQ, Tokyo**

**19:56 MST**

Lelouch walked inside the Black Knights Japanese Headquarters, dressed as Zero for the first time in over two years. Kallen, Tohdoh and C.C. followed him inside. Suzaku walked in after them, dressed in a jet black pilot suit and wearing something that resembled a black motorcycle helmet. _'It's a good thing I planned ahead,' _Lelouch thought to himself as he walked past a group of Black Knight foot-soldiers, _'We would have to some explaining if Suzaku suddenly came back alive.'_

He paused as he stopped at the entrance to Command Center and turned to Tohdoh. "Have the Black Knights contacted Lloyd yet?" He asked. With any luck the Earl of Pudding would have created a new version of the Lancelot by now. The only unsolved matter would be getting it over in time.

"We haven't established a connection, but we're working on it," Tohdoh replied simply as he opened the doors. Black Knights Secretary-General Kaname Ohgi was waiting for them. The command center was actually a modified version of the one Britannia had used when it was in control of Japan, with more monitors crammed inside for communication purposes.

"Zero," Ohgi said as he turned to Lelouch, his face holding a grim expression. It was clear the situation had taken its toll on him. He looked behind Zero and spotted Kallen. His expression softened. "Kallen. I wish we didn't have to bring you into this."

"Report," Lelouch stated. But then he quickly added, "We'll have time for catching up later Ohgi, after we drive these mercenaries out of Japan."

"Of course," Ohgi said and turned to the tactical map displayed on the main screen. "As you can see Zero, we have the HQ represented by the green dot here." He pointed to the dot, which sat on the eastern side of the city.

"We have two defensive lines," Ohgi said and pointed to the black lines, which extended North-South down the western side of Tokyo and the center of Tokyo, effectively splitting the city into uneven thirds.

"The mercenaries haven't made any significant attempt to penetrate the inner line set up by Chiba's 4th Division." Ohgi explained as the display zoomed in on the middle line, "However the outer defense line that was established has been attacked multiple times by two mercenaries." Ohgi tapped a few keys and the images of Morrighan's _Vulture_ and Belinda's _Uziel_ appeared on the main screen. "These two Knightmares have pulled at least 15 Knightmares away from the outer defensive line. We haven't been able to reestablish contact with any of them."

"It's safe to assume then that they're dead," Zero replied calmly, "Those two mercenaries either have reinforcements lying in ambush or they can easily take out our Knightmares." Lelouch frowned inside Zero's helmet. _'The Grandmaster said the chess pieces are my Black Knights…and his Red Army. If my guess is right the Grandmaster is using his troops like real chess pieces.'_ He stepped in front of Ohgi and brought the map of Tokyo back to the main screen.

"They're mercenaries are either slowly eroding the outer defense line for a larger assault," Zero stated calmly, "Or they're just doing it for sport. Either way I'm going to put a stop to this." He turned his head toward Ohgi. "Contact Lloyd Asplund and inform him we're going to need the latest Lancelot type he's made. I may have a suitable pilot for him."

"Understood," Ohgi replied and turned to leave the command center.

"Get to the hangar Kallen," Lelouch ordered as he turned to face the ace of the Black Knights, "That goes for you as well Tohdoh. We're taking the fight to the enemy."

* * *

When Morrighan entered the Grandmaster's command room it immediately registered in her mind that she was late. Belinda and Madde had already arrived and were standing against the wall, dressed in their red pilot uniforms. The two of them appeared to be waiting patiently for Morrighan, the Red Army's Colonel, to appear.

Spook, the second major, leaned against the wall opposite Madde and Belinda, dressed in his skull-white uniform. His pale eyes glanced momentarily at Morrighan from under his chin-length white hair before returning to the Grandmaster's desk.

"Glad to see you could make it Oracle," Tamhas said as the brown leather chair that sat behind his large oak desk rotated to face her. "Now we can begin." He gestured to Norman Archibald. "Butler, if you'd be so kind…"

"Of course," Norman replied. The balding Major wore an eye patch over his left eye, had a large white mustache, and wore a simple black suit. The only thing that identified him as a member of the GM's Red Army was a red rook pin on the lapel of his jacket.

The old major placed his hand on a set of controls on the wall and a holographic map of Tokyo appeared in front of the commanding officers as Morrighan walked over to Madde and Belinda and leaned against the wall. Two bright green lines divided Tokyo represented the Black Knight's defensive positions and a large green dot represented their main base.

"What we have here is a game of Armageddon," Tamhas said aloud as he got up from behind his desk, twirling the red King piece between the fingers of his right hand. Everyone except Morrighan and Norman looked at the Grandmaster in confusion. Tamhas ignored them. "I was hoping Zero would go on the offensive, but it seems that he's unsure of what I'm going to do. In that case I'll just have to go on the offensive to get him to react."

"Forgive me for being blunt," Spook interrupted, "But could you please not use chess terms when describing strategy?"

Tamhas looked at Spook for a second as if puzzled, but then shrugged. "Forgive me; I tend to think in chess terms when it comes to strategy." He turned back to the hologram. "In review: this battle is, politically, as I said earlier, what in chess is called Armageddon. Zero and his forces, have to win this battle, while our forces merely have to get a draw to win." He tapped a button on his desk and three red dots appeared in front of the outer green line. "We'll use three lances of Medium Battlemechs, lead by Warrant Officer Idunn, to break through the outer line of defense." He pointed at Belinda who nodded in acknowledgment.

"Spook will slip through the break in the Black Knight's defensive perimeter and head for the inner defensive line. His Mech's Null Signature System will allow him to slip past undetected." He turned his head so the front of his mask faced Spook. "Once you get past their defensive line, head for the Black Knight's HQ, raise hell for exactly thirty seconds and disengage. We cannot, under any circumstances, allow either the Void Signature System or the Null Signature System to fall into UFN hands. Understand?"

"I got it," Spook replied with a nod. "You need me for anything else or should I start running diagnostics on the _Exterminator_?"

"You're dismissed Spook," Tamhas replied and the albino teen casually walked out of the command room. Then he turned to Madde and Morrighan. "Major Irmalinda will lead two Heavy lances to engage the Black Knight's outer perimeter." A red arrow appeared on the map and collided with the outer green line, leaving a massive gap. "This should allow the three Heavy lances led by Colonel Agrona to punch through the inner defensive line." A large arrow shot over from the western side of the map and rammed its way through the first green line and slammed into the middle green line.

"Grandmaster," Madde said as she examined map, "What about the Guren and the Shinkiro?"

"We'll deal with them as they come," Tamhas replied, "Everyone is dismissed." Then he seemed to hesitate. "Colonel Agrona, I need you to stay here for a moment. There are some very important matters we need to discuss."

Morrighan watched as Belinda, Madde and Norman walked out of the command room and turned to Tamhas as he turned off the holographic map. "What did you want to talk about Grandmaster?"

"Be careful out there Morri," Tamhas said as he walked over to Morrighan. He stopped in front of her and gently ran a few fingers down her cheek. "You nearly got yourself killed in Paris. You have your own ability, it's time you started using it." He pulled off his mask and looked calmly down at Morrighan, the Geass sigils his eyes giving him an almost demonic look. He leaned forward and gently brushed her cheek with his lips as he whispered in her ear, "It will save your life. Trust me."


	9. Chapter 8: Mid Game

**Black Knight Outer Defensive Line, Tokyo**

**20:37 MST  
August 16****th****, 2020 a.t.b.**

The sun had just set behind the Tokyo skyline and all hell was about to break loose.

"Commander Nagisa," A rookie Knightmare pilot said over the comm system, "There are five large objects moving toward Outpost 3. The leading object matches the silhouette of one of the frames that have been attacking the outer defense line. They are at 700 meters and closing. Permission to engage?"

"Request denied," Chiba replied as she brought a tactical map up inside her Akatsuki Jikisanshiyo command unit as it hovered above the inner defense line. "Have Raikou 3 move into the middle of the street." _'One shot from Raikou's cannon should cripple those frames enough for our units to move in and finish them off,'_ Chiba thought as she watched the dated Knightmare maneuver itself into the middle of the street on her tactical map.

"Division commander," another pilot called over the comm system. "Four mercenaries are approaching from the South at four hundred meters. Raikou Five is prepared to fire."

"This is Raikou Four. I have four frames approaching my position. We are charging the Shrapnel Cannon now."

"Understood," Chiba replied. "Good luck Raikou Four." She turned off the comm system and let out a sigh. The civilians had been evacuated from the western side of Tokyo. Prime Minister Ohgi had informed her that Kallen and the rebuilt Guren would be joining the front line momentarily. _'Lot of good it will do,'_ Chiba thought, _'Low-flying Knightmares are just going to cause more senseless destruction.'_

* * *

"Amazon speaking," Belinda said as she killed the throttle on her _Uziel_. The Battlemech stopped 600 meters away from the Black Knights' Outpost 3. The lance of Medium Battlemechs behind her followed suit, slowing to a halt at 605 meters. "Lance leaders sound off."

"This is Echo Lead," replied the pilot of the _Shadow Cat_ behind Belinda's _Uziel_. "Delta Lance is ready to engage."

"This is Alpha Lead," the pilot of a 9.5 meter tall, 45 ton _Hellspawn_ which was leading the quartet of Battlemech's from the north. "We are in position."

"This is Hotel Lead," called the pilot of the 9 meter tall, 55 ton _Bushwhacker_ that was leading the other lance of medium 'Mechs from the south, "Hotel Lance is awaiting your signal."

Belinda smirked as she confirmed the status of the three lances. "Status confirmed," She said as she activated her _Uziel_'s zoom window on her head's-up display. "Echo Lead, I have visual on a large Knightmare cannon-type unit. Looks like that Raikou the JLF made. Can you confirm?"

"Copy that Amazon," the _Shadow Cat_'s pilot replied, "I confirm the presence of one Raikou Knightmare unit. There probably some Akatsuki units nearby. What's on your sensors Echo 4?"

"I'm picking up multiple signatures," Echo 4 replied from inside his 9 meter tall, 55 ton, and bird-like _Men Shen_, "…Maybe a four unit fire team of Knightmares. Or there could be a whole squadron of them hiding in ambush. The sensor's on the fritz again."

"Copy that Echo 4," Amazon replied as she returned to her HUD's normal view. "All units prepare to engage.

* * *

Zero stood at the edge of a balcony inside the hangar, watching as the Black Knights finished preparing Kallen's Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. "Well Rakshata, it's certainly a good thing you completely rebuilt the Guren." He said as he turned to the Indian woman who was stretched out on a red couch that was built into the balcony.

"Of course it is," The Black Knight's Chief of Science said in amusement, "I always take good care of my children." She sat up as she walked over to the railing and looked down at the mechanics that were scrambling all over the hangar. "In case you're wondering your Knightmare will be ready for battle in about ten minutes." The two of them stood in silence for a few minutes.

"Tell me Rakshata," Lelouch said suddenly, "Can the Guren beat the machines our enemy is using?" It didn't take a genius to put two and two together and realize that the vehicles the Black Knights were up against were not Knightmares.

"…It's hard to say," Rakshata replied as she fiddled with her tobacco pipe as she stared at the Guren, "But I do recognize the movement concept. It belongs to a man named Melor Kazimir. His idea was that the landspinners used by Knightmares limited their use in terrain situations and that something that simply used the feet of the Knightmare instead would increase their mobility. He called these machines "Battlemechs". But then he mysteriously vanished from the face of the earth about five years before the invasion of Japan, so the Battlemech was never realized." She turned to Zero and gave a smug smile, "But with the Guren's modifications by me and the Earl of Pudding it should be able to destroy those machines in single combat."

"Zero!" Ohgi shouted as he ran out onto the balcony, "We just received a report from Commander Nagisa!" He paused as he tried to catch his breath, looking like he'd run a marathon to get to the two of them. "Thirteen enemy Knightmares have engaged the outer defensive line." He held up a data pad which displayed the three groups of Battlemechs approaching from the south, north, and west. The western group was on a straight shot to Black Knight's HQ.

"The outer defenses are falling back to the inner defense line after sustaining heavy losses," Ohgi explained, "Also, the pilots who were trapped behind the three advancing groups reported a column of larger Knightmares approaching from the west. Zero, what are your orders?"

_'So,'_ Lelouch thought as he turned to face Ohgi, _'the Grandmaster's decided to go on the offense first. Good. We still have a secret weapon.'_ He cleared his throat before he spoke. "Inform Kallen she was leaving in the Guren now." He turned to Rakshata, "As for my Knightmare, I want it combat-ready in two minutes." Zero exited the balcony as he headed for the hangar floor.

_'What's your plan Grandmaster?'_ Lelouch thought as he stepped into the personnel elevator, _'Why are you attacking from three directions at once? I reviewed of the battle in Paris and your "mechs" are perfectly capable of launching and sustaining a single spearhead with just two of your machines. So why are you launching three spearheads with so many machines?'_

* * *

"Hotel Lead, this is the Ghost of War Yet to come," Spook called out over the 'Mech-to-Mech comm channel from inside his 10 meter tall, 65 ton, humanoid headhunter Battlemech known as _Exterminator_. "I have reached the Black Knight's main hangar. Hangar door is closed and I'm going to wait for it to open before I deactivate the Null Sig." He looked out the visor-like windshield on his mech's head at the Black Knight's hangar.

His gigantic mech sat crouched in the middle of a side-street. At the moment it was invisible courtesy to the Null Signature System's camouflaging capabilities, and heat sensors couldn't detect it because he'd shut it down. Thankfully no vehicles had tried to use the road his mech was on or his cover would be blown.

"Copy that Spook," The _Bushwhacker_'s pilot responded, "Hotel 2's _Nightsky_, Hotel 3's _Hatchetman_, and Hotel 4's _Black Hawk_ are driving the weakling Black Knights back to the last line of defense. When you're done raising hell up there wanna come back and join us?"

"If the Grandmaster will allow it," Spook replied with a chuckle. His eyes flickered up to the hangar door as it started to open. "Well Hotel Lead, I have a little work to do. So do me a favor Gator and don't die okay?" He clicked off the comm before Gator could give him one of his eccentric replies.

"It's just one those days when you don't wanna wake up…" Spook muttered to himself as he powered up the _Exterminator_ and brought the mech to its feet. He inched the throttle forward and eleven meter tall 'mech walked toward the center of the hangar door. Spook calmly waited until he could see the Knightmares waiting inside the hangar. and a near-Glasgow Smile appeared on his face in glee. "You don't really know why, but you wanna justify, rippin' someone's head off!" He sang as he started to deactivate his Null Sig.

Kallen sat inside the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N, running a systems check on the Knightmare, when two beams of neon green energy slammed into her left energy wing. "What the-?" She shouted as she looked up at the hangar entrance. What she saw was a enormous Knightmare-type machine with a bone white/bleached bone color scheme, standing in the center of the hangar doorway. "An enemy?" She shouted over the comm system, "Here?"

"How is that possible?" Zero said, standing just outside his Knightmare's repair bay. Then it hit him. _'Of course! The three pronged attack on the outer line was a diversion for this guy!'_ He ducked inside the doors of his Knightmare's repair bay as the massive machine turned its head toward his direction.

"Did I see a man wearing a cape?" Spook muttered to himself as his Exterminator turned its right arm in Zero's direction. A small mission timer on his control panel read 00:00:13. "Well, I'm not going to leave without destroying at least one Knight-THE HELL?!" He shouted in surprise as Tohdoh's Zangetsu shot out of the hangar and punched the _Exterminator_ in the chest. Spook immediately reversed the throttle on his mech, firing his lasers erratically at Tohdoh's Knightmare. He landed a shot on Zangetsu's left arm before he pulled the _Exterminator_ into a side street. He activated the mech's Null Sig as he turned the Exterminator around and started to retreat as he examined his mech for damage.

"Coward," Tohdoh muttered as Spook fled. "Kallen!" He shouted at the Black Knight's ace pilot. "Don't waste your time searching for that Knightmare. Just get to the defense line."

"Right!" Kallen replied and the Guren shot out of the hangar on her energy wings toward the northwestern part of the city.

* * *

Morrighan sat inside her _Vulture_'s cockpit as she led the three lances of Heavy Mechs toward the Black Knights' inner defense line. The lance directly behind her consisted of two 10 meter tall, 70 _Avatar_ Battlemechs, a 9.5 meter tall, 75 ton _Black Knight_ Battlemech and a 10.5 meter tall, 70 ton _Thor_ Battlemech. The lance behind them was a quartet of 10 meter high, 70 ton _Nova Cat_ Battlemech. The rear lance contained two 11.5 meter high, 75 ton _Marauder_ Battlemechs, one 11 meter tall, 75 ton _Orion_ Battlemech, and a 10.5 meter, 70 ton _Shootist_.

But even with 930 tons of Battlemechs including her own 60 ton _Vulture_ to back her up, Morrighan felt ill at ease. _'Perhaps I should use my ability.'_ She thought and then immediately discarded it, _'It's too dangerous to use my power while my mech's moving.'_

"Ohhh Oracle!!" Madde's teasing voice echoed through Morrighan's cockpit as her face appeared on the vid comm. "How's the Grandmaster's Q-1 doing?" Morrighan blushed horribly and glared at Madde. She hated that nickname, and Madde knew that. This is why she used it so much.

"What do you want Playmate?" She snapped irritably.

"Oh nothing…except that Belinda's already broken through the outer line along with Echo lance and they're engaging the inner defense line. You might want to hurry up before there's nothing left to shoot at. Ciao!" The vid comm clicked off.

"Ughh…" Morrighan groaned in annoyance at her subordinate's constant taunting. "Delta Lances One, Two, and Three engage full throttle. We're probably going to have to bail Amazon's ass when we reach the inner perimeter." There was a chorus of affirmative responses as she pushed her mech's throttle all the way forward and took off toward the inner defensive line at 86.4 km/h.

* * *

As the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. flew over the buildings of Tokyo Kallen listed to the battle's comm traffic when something caught her attention. "…Any more Black Knights near your location Alpha 3?"

"Mercenary bastards," Kallen muttered as the Guren dropped below the skyline and did a hairpin turn around a street corner. _'Arrogant scumbags,'_ She thought as she slowly decreased the throttle of her Knightmare, _'Don't even bother to communicate over secure channels.'_ Then a thought occurred to her. _'Unless…'_ She thought as the Guren shot around the corner…right into a barrage of missiles from Alpha Lance's _Hellspawn_, _Chimera_, _Centurion_, and _Cobra _Battlemechs.

"Oh shit!" Kallen shouted as she yanked her controls to the left and flew the Guren through the building on the right of the Lance of mechs. She gunned the Guren's throttle as high as it would go and burst out of the building as the missiles past and went straight for the circular missile pod that was the _Chimera_'s right torso. Before she could blink her Knightmare had slammed through the torso of mercenaries massive Knightmare and was flying away from the other three.

"Wha-?" The pilot didn't have time to finish as the Medium Range Missiles ammunition bins inside the _Chimera_'s torso detonated right underneath his cockpit and engulfed the entire Battlemech in a giant fireball. The other three Battlemechs backed away from their destroyed comrade as they turned to face the Guren.

"Shit! That's the Guren!" Alpha Lead shouted as his _Hellspawn_ fired his arm and chest mounted Medium Pulse Lasers at Kallen's Knightmare and missed. The 9.5 meter tall, 50 ton _Centurion_ raised its Autocannon 10 bearing right arm and fired a massive slug at the retreating Guren.

A small smirk formed on Kallen's face as she turned the Guren around to face the other three Battlemechs. She activated the Guren's radiant wave surger arm and thrust it in front of the Guren just as the Battlemechs started firing. The Knightmare's right hand blocked autocannon round as the microwave emitter activated. The massive slug disintegrated under the intense radiation.

"Die!" Kallen shouted and fired a radiation projectile from the Guren's surger at the _Centurion_'s 'head'. The disk-like projectile tore through the Battlemech's cockpit and turned the 'head's "face" into a smoking wreck. The 50 ton machine toppled backward as the nuclear reactor that powered it began to go critical. There was a two second pause before the Battlemech exploded as its lancemates lurched forward toward the Guren.

Kallen didn't have a chance to savor her kill. She quickly yanked the controls to the right as the _Hellspawn_ fired its Medium Pulse Lasers again, sending green beams of energy just past the Guren's right wing.

Kallen slammed the controls forward and the Guren became a purple blur as it flew between _Hellspawn_ and the 45 ton, 8 meter tall _Cobra_. The purple blur cut through the Hellspawn's torso, right missile launcher and the right arm, sending the Hellspawn's nuclear reactor into critical before it exploded.

In a fluid motion Kallen fired the Guren's right arm straight at the back of the _Cobra_'s cockpit. The radiant wave surger arm activated and quickly warped the entire frame of the cockpit as it fried the mech's electronics as well as the pilot inside. The 45 ton mech struggled about for a few moments before it ceased moving completely.

"Hmph," Kallen grunted as the Guren's right arm reattached itself to the main frame, "That wasn't so hard. I wonder why Cornelia and the other Black Knights had such a problem with these guys." And with that she sent the Guren flying above the rooftops, headed for the main battlefield.

* * *

**Author's Note**: For those of you who don't know about Battlemechs, google BattleTech Wiki.


	10. Chapter 9: The End Game

**Onboard **_**Krieg Chessboard**_**, Japan**

**21:23 MST**

**August 16****th****, 2020 a.t.b.**

"Grandmaster," Butler said as he opened the door to the Red Army's command room. Tamhas sat behind his large oak desk with a chessboard in front of him. Red and black Chess pieces were set up on the chessboard, the black pieces opposite of the Grandmaster. The majority of the black pawns sat on the side of the board, captured by red pieces. "We have lost all contact with Alpha Lance," The old mercenary stood at attention, his hands clasped behind his back as he waited for the Grandmaster's orders.

Tamhas remained behind his desk with his hands clasped together behind the chessboard as if he was praying. After a few moments he reached out and removed a red pawn from the chessboard. "Did our sensors pick up anything before we lost contact?"

"Negative sir."

"Hmm," Tamhas muttered as he picked up the red King piece from the board, "Tell the mechanics to run diagnostics on my Battlemech and prepare its drop pod." Then he placed the red King right in front of the black King. "I think it's time for the Grandmaster to join the battle."

* * *

Belinda cycled through her _Uziel_'s weapons as the mech soared over the low buildings of central Tokyo on a plume of superheated exhaust_. 'Looks like the Grandmaster overestimated the Black Knights,'_ She thought as she selected the Short Range Missile 6 installed in her mech's missile pod. Without a second thought she fired the salvo of missiles at an unlucky Akatsuki Knightmare that was hanging off a building by a Slash Harken about 20 meters away from her 'mech. The Knightmare exploded as the unguided missiles slammed into its body right as Belinda's mech landed on the pavement.

Things had been looking grim for her and Echo lance a few minutes earlier. They'd lost Echo 3 and his 50 ton, 9 meters tall _Enfield_ because of a Raikou that had been hiding in an alley. The Autocannon 20 on Echo 2's 9.5 meters tall, 50 ton _Hunchback_ dispatched the Knightmare seconds afterward. The Black Knights had Belinda and Echo Lance surrounded and had started to close in for the kill. At that point Belinda thought that she'd overestimated the power of her _Uziel_.

Then Madde had arrived with her backup, which came in the form of eight 65 ton, 11 meter tall _Axman_ Battlemechs. The close combat weapons on the reinforcements, backed up by the powerful arsenal on Madde's _Mad Cat _had turned the tide back in the Red Army's favor. Not to mention the fact that Morrighan and her three lances of Heavy Mechs would arrive soon to punch a hole all the way to the Black Knights' HQ.

Belinda was knocked out of her train of thought as a rocket slammed into the _Uziel_'s left torso. The 50 ton Battlemech staggered backward as it tried to stay upright. If it fell over the Belinda was as good as dead. The Black Knights' Akatsukis would stab their Katen Yaibatou's into the back of her mech and cause the nuclear reactor to explode. "Shit shit shit shit!" Belinda cursed as her neurohelmet used her own sense of balance to keep her mech upright. "Who the hell just shot me?" She muttered as the _Uziel_ managed to stay on its feet. She quickly ran a damage analysis of her mech and realized that the machine gun inside the left torso had been destroyed.

"Ah hell." Belinda grumbled as a dark blue Akatsuki Jikisanshiyo appeared hovering right in front of her Uziel. _'That bastard just took out one of my better close range weapons.' _This wasn't exactly true. Her SRMs had more firepower, but they lacked heat-seeking capabilities. The machine guns were significantly weaker but had a much faster rate of fire than the missiles did.

Chiba's Knightmare hovered in front of the massive machine, her right arm minus a radiant-wave surger rocket. _'They're more durable than I expected,'_ She thought as she pointed the machine gun mounted on her Akatsuki Jikisanshiyo's left arm at the massive Knightmare. "Die." She said as she pressed her thumb on the trigger. The machine gun opened fire on the _Uziel_, peppering the machine with bullet holes that barely scratched the surface of the mech's eight tons of armor.

There was a flash of red light as Madde's Extended Range Large Laser just in front of Chiba's cockpit. The laser took the Knightmare's left arm off at the elbow.

"Damn it!" Chiba yelled and yanked back on the controls and pulled her Akatsuki away from Belinda's _Uziel_ as Madde's larger _Mad Cat _walked toward them. _'It's two against one! I can't win!'_

"Commander Nagisa," A voice called out to her from the vid comm. Chiba looked down and saw the enigmatic form of Zero seated in the cockpit of a Knightmare. "Give me a status report."

"We are about to get overrun!" Chiba shouted Zero's image rather harshly. "The armor on these Knightmares is too thick for our Machine guns to penetrate, and they're firepower has been keeping us from getting in close to use our swords!"

"And the Raikous?"

"Raikou Two destroyed one of the smaller ones at point-blank range in an ambush," Chiba replied, "but it was taken out seconds later."

"How many enemies have been destroyed?" Zero asked suddenly.

"Two, maybe three," Chiba answered, "They were able to knock the machines off their feet and close in with their swords before the Knightmare could get back up."

"Interesting," Zero said as he stroked his chin in thought. "Keep falling back. I've sent reinforcements led by Tohdoh to back you up. Kallen will arrive soon and I shall enter the battle shortly after her arrival. Form a defensive line and hold that position until Tohdoh arrives." He switched off vid comm and Chiba fell back as the Machine guns on Madde's _Mad Cat_ shattered the windows beside her Knightmare.

* * *

Morrighan adjusted her _Vulture_'s throttle to zero as she neared the massive pillar of smoke rising from the battle up ahead. "Delta Group decrease throttle to 25 percent." She ordered over the comm to the three lances of Battlemechs behind her. "Delta Lance One will take the left street. Delta Lance Three will take the right street. Delta Lance Two will take the street in front of me. We are going to clear out any Black Knights in the area before we link up with Echo Lance. Copy?" The chorus of affirmative responses added a tiny smirk to her expression. _'Now's my chance,'_ She thought as she closed her eyes. Suddenly her eyes snapped open and a red Geass sigil appeared on her right eye. Her body relaxed as she went into a trance.

Suddenly images began to flash in front of her mind. A girl with red hair, a purple blur cutting through a large Battlemech, a black haired teenage boy wearing a cape of some sort, and a winged Knightmare attacking a _Vulture_, its right arm poised to strike the cockpit. The images surfaced in her conscious and then vanished as quickly as it had appeared. At that point Morrighan started to panic. _'Please…' _She begged her mind, '_Make it stop!' _Suddenly she screamed at the images. _'I can't take it anymore!'_

"ORACLE!" Tomhas' voiced snapped Morrighan out of her trance and brought her back to reality. She slowly reconnected with her body's sense as her Geass deactivated. It quickly occurred to her that she was drenched in sweat and her body was shaking uncontrollably.

She keyed her comm's mic and hesitantly replied, "T-this is Oracle. G-Go ahead Grandmaster sir."

"We lost contact with Alpha Lance about ten minutes ago. It's a safe bet that the Guren is involved. The _Krieg Chessboard_ is en route to your location for aerial support and spotting purposes. ETA, six minutes." His voice became hushed as he added, "Stay alive for me Morri."

Morrighan's body calmed itself as Tamhas spoke. "Understood Grandmaster. Oracle out." She replied and flipped off the comm for a moment. She could that her cheeks were bright red in the reflection of one of her mech's control panels. "Delta Group, be advised." She said as she turned the comm back on, "The _Chessboard_'s got intel that the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. is in the area. Maintain partial airwatch."

* * *

**21:27 MST**

Kallen frowned as the Guren neared the main battlefield. Smoke was rising from Tokyo's center and a couple of buildings had already been destroyed in the crossfire. From her bird's-eye view Kallen saw flashes of gunfire and colored beams of energy in the smoke below. _'I can't see a thing…' _She thought as she hovered east of the columns of smoke.

"Kallen," Zero said as his masked visage appeared on the screen below her chest, "Sensor reports indicate that a group of large Knightmares are approaching from the west, headed toward the battlefield. We can assume they're here to reinforce the current mercenaries already locked in battle with Chiba and her forces." He paused as Kallen looked down at the screen. "Wipe them out."

"Understood." Kallen replied and turned the Guren west, away from the battlefield.

The Guren had traveled about 50 meters when two bolts of blue energy shot past the Knightmare's head. "Looks like I've been spotted." Kallen remarked as she looked down at her attackers.

"This is Delta Lance Two!" A pilot shouted over Morrighan's comm, "We see the Guren and are engaging it now."

"This is Delta One," Replied another pilot, "My Lance is en route your location Delta Five. Leave some for us okay?"

Morrighan rolled her eyes at the juvenile nature of the pilots around her. She keyed in the firing sequence for her LRMs as her _Vulture _closed in on Delta Lance Two's position.

Suddenly her eyes widened as she saw a purple blur slice one of the _Nova Cat_ down the middle. She watched, frozen as the winged Knightmare from her vision appeared from the blur. It quickly turned and fired its right arm like a Slash Harken at another _Nova Cat_. The arm's massive hand latched onto the mech's cockpit and crushed it with no effort at all. _'It's a monster.' _Morrighan thought in horror as her face paled beneath her neurohelmet.

Something caught Kallen's eye as the Guren turned to attack another one of the large Knightmares. A fifth Knightmare stood a little ways off from the two remaining Knightmares. It was a different model from the others, and Kallen spotted a red queen insignia emblazoned on the Knightmare's shins.

"That's the leader," She said aloud. "If I take him down the rest of the mercenaries won't have a commander! They'll fall apart!" She turned the Guren toward the new enemy as its right arm returned to its shoulder and flew straight for the Knightmare's chest. She was going to get in this mercenary's face before her Guren killed him.

Morrighan sat petrified with shock in the mech's pilot seat. _'The one she was going to kill…_' she thought as the Guren closed in, The pilots from every remaining mech in the area yelled at her to move, to eject; to get the hell away from that menace. But Morrighan remained frozen, her eyes watching the Guren's right arm as it came above the cockpit to crush it and end her existence.

That's when she fired at the Guren with everything her _Vulture_ had in a desperate, all-or-nothing alpha strike.

"Wha-?" Was all Kallen had the chance to say as the Knightmare fired point-blank into the Guren with forty missiles.

The arm-mounted Pulse Lasers hit the tips of the Guren's energy wings, doing little damage other than causing the feathers of energy to flicker briefly. The missiles were another story altogether. Even if the LRMs had never been intended to hit something at point-blank range, the mere force of the missile's impact on the Guren was impressive. Then the missiles detonated at point-blank range.

Kallen had been caught completely off-guard by Morrighan's act of desperation. The missiles obliterated the energy wings in a fraction of a second, along with its left arm, right leg, and most of the Knightmare's armor. Luckily for Kallen, the cockpit, left arm and head survived the barrage and could still function. The same couldn't be said the left leg. It had been mangled beyond repair by the barrage and was only still attached to the Guren because of a tangle of wires and cables.

However Morrighan's panicked attack backfired on her as well. The explosion from the missiles destroyed both of her _Vulture_'s missile racks, and her mech's "beak" was smashed in by the Guren as it crashed into the Battlemech. The force from the collision snapped both of the _Vulture_'s at the hip joints and knocked it on its back.

Both Morrighan and Kallen had lost conscious during the collision.

* * *

Lelouch sat inside the cockpit of the Shinkiro as it hovered over the carnage of the battlefield below. _'I hope Kallen is alright,'_ He thought as he quickly erected a shield and deflected an autocannon round from a nearby _Axman_.

A large boom and a supersonic projectile slamming into his Shinkiro's Absolute Defense Territory's shield drew Lelouch's attention to the massive _Krieg Chessboard_ as it dropped a fifteen meter high, ten meter wide, and seven meter thick metal container in front of him. The massive container descended on a giant pair of rockets and had the appearance of a giant tombstone.

"Hello again _Zero_," Tamhas taunted over one the Black Knights' secure channels, "Enjoying the game I trust?" His masked face appeared on the Shinkiro's vid comm.

"You," Lelouch said as he donned Zero's mask again.

"Anyway," the Grandmaster said, ignoring Lelouch, "this game is beginning to bore me. How about we finish this with a Duel of Kings?"

"A Duel of Kings?" Lelouch asked, somewhat confused.

"It is a duel that will decide the ultimate outcome of the battle," the Grandmaster explained calmly, "We each have one vehicle to fight in, and the terms of surrender after the duel are decided by the victor."

"Very well," Lelouch said from beneath his mask. "My vehicle is the Shinkiro. And yours?"

"My vehicle is right in front of you," Tamhas replied coolly.

"You're going to fight me with a giant tombstone?" Zero said in disbelief.

"Hahaha!!" the Grandmaster laughed and clapped his hands in amusement. "The boy knows how to make jokes too!" He pressed a button off screen and there was an explosion of steam from the side of the container in front of the Shinkiro. A pair of massive doors opened outward and something monstrously large stepped out of the container. Its red eyes gleamed through the steam as they stared right at the Shinkiro. Lelouch began to sweat underneath his mask as the Battlemech's skull-like head appeared out of the steam. The humanoid machine towered over the Shinkiro in sheer size, standing at least twelve-and-a-half meters tall.

"Allow me to introduce to you the _Atlas_." Tamhas said in a smug voice.

"This is _my_ vehicle. May the best King win."


	11. Chapter 10: Duel of Kings

**Center of Tokyo, Japan**

**21:32 MST**

**August 16****th****, 2020 a.t.b.**

Lelouch stared awestruck at the behemoth of a machine in front of him. His eyes briefly skimmed the monstrosity's surface until they stopped at the Battlemech's foot as the _Atlas_ stepped out of the drop pod. "A Battlemech," He said abruptly. "Every one of your group's so-called Knightmares is a Battlemech, isn't it?" He asked as he typed in a series of commands that made the Shinkiro retreat 100 meters backward.

Zero's sudden comment caught Tamhas by surprise. He looked up from the dual joystick/keyboard-based control system that allowed him to operate the thirteen meters and one hundred tons of destruction that was the _Atlas_. "So you know about Kazimir huh?" He said as he focused his Geass on Lelouch. At the same time he cycled through the weapon-systems of his _Atlas_.

"Well Zero," Tamhas taunted the Black Knights' leader as he pushed joystick that controlled the throttle forward and sent the _Atlas_ into a 27 kph jog toward the Shinkiro's. "Since you're wasting our time talking..." He didn't bother finishing the statement and fired at Lelouch with his Battlemech's hip-mounted Gauss Rifle, arm-mounted Extended Range Particle Projector Cannons and short and long range missiles in quick succession.

"Damn it!" Lelouch cursed as he activated the Shinkiro's Absolute Defense System. The missiles exploded harmlessly against the red hexagonal shields, but the force of the ER PPCs shook Lelouch's Knightmare. At the same time the Gauss Rifle hit the Shinkiro's shields dead center and knocked back into a nearby building. _'Not good.'_ Lelouch thought as the Shinkiro crawled out of the side of the building, _'A direct hit from those weapons will tear me apart.'_

The Shinkiro took off and flew over the Grandmaster's _Atlas_ before the mercenary could fire another salvo. "Let's see how tough this Battlemech is," Zero said as he deactivated the Absolute Defense System and fired the Shinkiro's wrist-mounted Hadron blasters at the _Atlas_ as the massive Battlemech slowly turned around.

Tomas muttered a curse as he struggled to keep his Battlemech upright under the fire from the Hadron blasters. The red blasts hit the 'mech's right shoulder and left leg, which melted off a few tons of armor.

"Time to finish this!" Lelouch said in triumph and activated Shinkiro's Diffusion Structure Phase Transition Cannon. The prism inside the Shinkiro's chest shot out and Lelouch immediately fired a powerful beam through it…only to have the prism blown apart by two green lasers. "What the…?"

"Are you forgetting Lelouch?" The Grandmaster taunted over the comm as the _Atlas_ continued to fire its medium pulse lasers, "I can read your mind!" The pulse lasers landed four shots on Lelouch's Knightmare before he brought the shields back up. The beams hit the Shinkiro's left foot and thigh, melting the armor on the large Knightmare. The molten armor slid down into the knee and the landspinner and jammed both systems.

"Damn it!" Lelouch swore as he pulled the Shinkiro away from Tamhas' gigantic Battlemech. _'This guy is deadlier than Mao!'_ He thought as the Shinkiro ducked behind a small apartment building for cover.

"Zero, this isn't much of a duel if you keep running away from me!" taunted the Grandmaster as the _Atlas_' Gauss Rifle punched through the apartment building.

* * *

Severin Reiner walked swiftly down the hall of the Southern Fortress Base, a look of displeasure chiseled onto his face. He turned the corner and walked down another hallway that led him to Astaroth's personal study. The doors of solid ice opened for him and he found Melor already inside Astaroth's office, ranting.

The head of the Weapons Research & Development Division loomed over the Will of Ares' mysterious leader as he spoke in a voice that burned with rage. "The Grandmaster deployed the _Atlas_ against our explicit orders." He said angrily and he folded his arms across his chest. "He revealed one of our most powerful weapons to the enemy."

"Indeed," Severin stated, "the Grandmaster has endangered the entire plan." He nodded his head grimly and began to walk around the office.

"Long range scanners on our naval units detected a trio of Caerleon-class aerial cruisers three kilometers away from Tokyo. They were escorting the _Avalon_ airship." He clasped his hands behind his back as he walked behind Astaroth's desk. "The GRA must retreat before they arrive." He stated flatly. "We do not know what surprises Lloyd Asplund has aboard that airship, and we can't afford to find out before the next assault."

The Astaroth sat in his steel chair, listening to Severin and Melor's information. The Supreme Commander raised his head and the neon green bar over his eyes flashed once they were finished. "Give the order to retreat." He turned his head toward Severin and a river of data began to flow across the eye covering, "You don't seem to put a lot of faith in the Grandmaster Severin."

"Supreme Commander, the man is a mercenary. Mercenaries are scum who work for the highest bidder. They cannot be trusted with sensitive operations." Severin stated flatly as his Geass glowed in his eyes.

"We shall see, Director Reiner," Astaroth said as he looked forward again and fixed his robotic gaze on Melor. "You are both dismissed." The mechanical-looking leader watched as Melor and Severin walked out of his office. The doors closed behind them and he turned his back to the door. "We shall see."

* * *

"Damn it!" Lelouch cursed and steered the Shinkiro out of the _Atlas_' line of fire as the Absolute Defense System was pounded by the Battlemech's pulse lasers.

"Ready to surrender Zero?" taunted the Grandmaster as the _Atlas_ slowly turned in Shinkiro's direction. Suddenly the light on his priority channel lit up and Tamhas severed communication with the leader of the Black Knights. He raised an eyebrow behind his red mask as Major Norman Archibald appeared on the comm. "This had better be important Norman. I'm in the middle of something at the moment."

"I'm afraid it is sir," the mercenary known as 'Butler' replied. "Oracle's battlemech engaged the Guren moments ago and was rendered immobile. However, it took the Guren down along with it."

"Damn!" Tamhas growled and punched the side of his cockpit in frustration. "And the Colonel? Is she alive?"

"Affirmative sir," Norman replied with a nod. "Colonel Agrona was pulled from her cockpit and is currently being transported back to the Chessboard as we speak. Which brings me to my other point sir—" the transmission broke into static as the Shinkiro dropped in front of Tamhas' _Atlas_ and fired its Hadron blasters point-blank into the 100 ton 'mech's chest. The enormous Battlemech stumbled backward before Tamhas regained control of his Battlemech.

"OI ZERO! WAIT YOUR TURN!!" Tamhas yelled in a bout of rage. He quickly returned the favor, firing every weapon on his mech point-blank right back at the leader of the Black Knights. The force of the impact broke through the Absolute Defense System and knocked the Shinkiro into the side of the nearest building, which then collapsed on top of the Knightmare. "Say again Butler? I was interrupted."

"Sir, we are being ordered by the Will of Ares to retreat immediately." Norman explained, "They want the Grandmaster's Red Army off Japan soil within the hour."

"WHAT?!" Tamhas shouted angrily. "We are this close to conquering the Black Knights!" He squeezed his thumb and forefinger together for emphasis. He quickly calmed himself down and regained his composure. "Send out the order to retreat. I have a little unfinished business before I join you." With that he shut off the priority comm and opened a voice only comm link with Zero.

"Congratulations Zero. My superiors have decided to let you live a little longer. We will finish this battle the next time we meet."

Finished, Tamhas shut off the comm and steered the _Atlas_ back toward the container had been deployed from.


	12. Chapter 11: Debriefing

**Black Knights Hospital, Japan**

**16:03 MST**

**August 20****th****, 2020 a.t.b.**

When Lelouch woke up, his eyes were nearly blinded by the bright lights overhead. He winced and looked away. As his eyes slowly began to adjust to the brightness he could make out a red blob next to his head. His vision slowly began to improve and he realized that the red blob was actually a head of red hair.

Once he could see clearly Lelouch sat up and examined his surroundings. He was lying face up in a military hospital bed, dressed in a white hospital gown. The curtains in the room were pulled closed to hide his identity from the outside world. His Zero outfit was nowhere in sight.

Lelouch frowned. _'I must have been knocked unconscious—'_ His eyes widened as the last few moments of his consciousness overwhelmed his senses. The Shinkiro…the gigantic Battlemech…the Grandmaster's taunting voice…then a bright flash and everything went dark.

The leader of the Black Knights closed his eyes and rested his head against the pillows behind it. He let out an exasperated sigh and gently slapped his hand over his eyes as he began to wonder what had happened after he had been knocked unconscious.

That's when Lelouch looked over at the person who had watching over him. A small smile formed on his lips when he saw Kallen sleeping beside his hospital bed, her head next to his pillow. "It's good to see you again Q-1." Lelouch muttered as he reached out and gently stroked her hair. Kallen looked so peaceful sleeping there at the side of his bed.

"You're awake." C.C. said calmly as she walked through the curtain behind Kallen.

"Report C2," Lelouch ordered in a rather commanding tone. "What's our status?"

"The Grandmaster and his mercenary army have left Japan," C.C. said in her usual apathetic tone as she stopped over to the foot of the hospital bed, "That was four days ago."

_'Four days?' _Lelouch thought as he rubbed his chin in thought. _'I'm going to need to recover quickly so I can go back to being Zero.'_

Then his thoughts turned to the Grandmaster. "We have a problem C2." He said as he looked straight at the green-haired immortal witch. "The Grandmaster has a Geass."

"I know," C2 replied calmly, "Kallen told me about it while you were unconscious. And before you ask, I don't know how he obtained the Geass, or who gave it to him."

"It's not that," Lelouch replied as he leaned back on the pillows behind him. "His Geass is a mind-reading type like Mao had. What bothers me is that he was able to read my mind even though I'm an immortal like you."

"The problem with your logic is that you're not an immortal like me," C.C. stated as she folded her arms across her chest. "Unlike me, you still have the ability to use your Geass." She walked over to the other side of the hospital bed and leaned in close to Lelouch's face. "You are unique Lelouch vi Britannia. When your parents were killed in the World of C, your father somehow transferred his Code to you. But you retained the ability to use your Geass, and you are not immune from other Geass." She stood up and turned away from Lelouch. "I suppose that the World of C warped the transfer process and you only received a partial Code from Charles as a result."

"Interesting," Lelouch muttered and nodded as a sign of acknowledgement. Then it dawned on him. "What happened to the Shinkiro?"

"The Shinkiro was totaled in the battle." C.C. said in her usual blunt fashion. "Rakshata was very upset."

A sweatdrop formed on the back of Lelouch's head as he imagined Rakshata's expression at the sight of the wrecked Knightmare. He laid down in the hospital bed in exhaustion. "Let me get some rest C2." He said and closed his eyes as he heard C.C. walk out of the room.

**

* * *

**

Southern Fortress Base, Antarctica

**23:08 MST**

Tamhas sat inside his personal quarters on board the _Krieg Chessboard_, his mind lost in thought. He had taken off his Grandmaster attire and sat in a chair in front of his chessboard in civilian clothing. He examined the chessboard behind his aviator sunglasses as he planned his next move.

The Grandmaster had been ordered by the higher-ups in the Will of Ares to remain at the Southern Fortress for the duration of the next operation. This applied to his army as well, and it frustrated Tamhas to no end. He was stuck in an oversized freezer while other mercenaries were out doing the fighting.

"It appears that the Supreme Commander wants to keep this war interesting," said a voice that brought Tamhas back to reality. The voice belonged to a teenage-looking boy who was standing in the doorway. The boy was dressed in an all-black uniform that matched his chin-length jet black hair. The boy's ghostly pale skin almost glowed in contrast. A pair of ice blue eyes watched Tamhas as the mercenary got to his feet and turned to the intruder. "Don't you agree Tamhas?"

"Nomen Nescio," Tamhas said as he placed a Red Knight so it checked the White King piece on the chessboard and turned to face his guest, "How is Colonel Morrighan?"

"She is recovering," Nomen Nescio replied coolly as he sat on the opposite side of the chessboard. He stared at the chess pieces and examined the moves the white player could make. "Interesting." He said finally, "The White King must move out of check but that would also put the white queen at risk."

"Indeed," Tamhas agreed as he cracked his neck, the chessboard reflected in his aviator sunglasses, "Zero may need to make a similar choice in the near future if all goes according to the Supreme Commander's plans."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry this chapter took so long. Updates should become more frequent after the end of June.


	13. Chapter 12: Enter the Dogs of War

**Britannian California Military Base**

**0800 MST**

**August 21****st****, 2020 a.t.b.**

"California Control, this is the supply airship _Troy_. We are now entering California City airspace," an electronically masked voice spoke over the comm system inside the control tower of the Britannian California Military Base.

"Roger that _Troy_," replied one of the flight control officers, "Any changes to the scheduled flight plan?" The airship in question was a massive gray blimp that sported a huge gondola on its belly. The airship had just flown in from the Pacific Ocean and was supposedly headed up toward an outpost in the Arctic North.

"Negative California Control," the pilot of the _Troy_ replied, "We're still headed for the Northern outpost, same as before."

"Roger that airship _Troy_. California Control out."

The inside of the air traffic control tower consisted of two parts: a pit where the many air traffic control personnel worked and a balcony above the pit where the air controllers' superiors observed overall operations without getting in the way. The two superiors at the moment were Colonel Cornelia Li Britannia, and her elder brother Odysseus Eu Brittania.

Odysseus let out a sigh as he watched his Cornelia as his younger sibling examined a wall mounted display of the base's long-range scanners. "Cornelia, are you sure that California City will be the Will of Ares' next target?" Odysseus asked, "There's nothing significant about California City. Its economy is based solely on tourism. Why would a war machine bother attacking a place with no military significance?"

"That's where you're wrong Odysseus," Cornelia said as she pointed out the window at the massive airstrip in front of them. "That is why they would attack this city. That airstrip serves as a hub for all the commercial air traffic in Western Hemisphere."

The Colonel of the Black Knights typed a series of commands into a nearby holoscreen and brought up a map of the Britannian West Coast, which stretched from Alaska to the tip of South America. She tapped on one of the major cities slightly north of California City and the map zoomed in to show a large metropolis resting against the body of water called Puget Sound, surrounded by three massive military bases, including one named 'Asplund Testing Facility'.

"If the Will of Ares destroyed that that hub, it would paralyze the import-export capabilities of Britannia's Central West Coast. We'd have to reroute those exports through the Seattle ports, which is already crowded by the military bases in the greater Puget Sound Area." Cornelia explained, "On a related note, my personal Knight Guilford is at the Asplund Testing Facility to oversee the final stages of production for the Tenth Age Knightmares."

"Cornelia," Odysseus said as he cocked an eyebrow at his sister's use of the antiquated term. "By personal Knight, you _**do**_ mean subordinate, correct?"

Cornelia blinked and looked at Odysseus for a moment, somewhat flustered by her elder brother's statement. "Of course," She replied and tried hard to maintain her normal cold outward appearance. She turned away from Odysseus toward the holomap as her cheeks started to turn a light pink. "Old habits die hard and all that."

* * *

General Rebekka Walburga stood on the bridge of the _War Den_, the Dogs of War's flagship. Identical in construction to the _Krieg Chessboard_, the _War Den_ was currently floating just above the edge of the stratosphere over California City with a squadron of Carleon Class Floating Battleships and three Logres Class Floating Battleships as they waited for The Devil's Rejects to initiate the assault. The German woman took off her officer's cap and ran a hand through her grayish blonde hair as she stared at the satellite images of the Britannian California Military Base and California City. "There's an open desert to the southwest," She informed the _War Den_'s navigator, "Land us there when the assault begins. I want to draw the commander out into the open."

"Understood General," the navigator replied, not looking up from the ship's controls.

"Ah, General Walburga!" the accent of the British Isles rang in Rebekka's ears as the face of Edgar "Badger" Dax, head of The Devil's Rejects, appeared on a holoscreen in front of her. "We, The Devil's Rejects, are about to start the attack."

Dax's appearance fit his nickname. He was a wild-looking man, with large bushy black eyebrows, a ragged beard, and an unruly head of black hair with two streaks of gray that ran down the back of his head.

A smirk formed on Rebekka's face as she nodded in reply. "Understood Mr. Dax. The Dogs of War will begin landing our assets immediately."

* * *

"Colonel!" one of the air traffic controllers shouted up from the pit to get Cornelia's attention. "Scanner's are picking up an unidentified fleet right above us! They're not responding to any attempts for communication. I count three Logres and at least eight Carleons. "

"Damnit!" Cornelia cursed under her breath. "Sound the alarm! I want all available Knightmares ready for combat immediately!"

"Sir!" another controller shouted, "There's a massive aircraft descending from the sky above us! It doesn't match any aircraft profiles on file. What the hell is that thing?!" The controller looked up at the balcony for orders, but Cornelia and Odysseus had just left the room.

* * *

_'Shit,'_ Cornelia thought while she watched the sky through the glass ceiling of the monorail as it took them from Air Traffic Control to the flight deck toward the far end of the airstrip. A diplomatic shuttle was stationed there in case of emergencies. _'Why did they have to be here of all places?'_

She turned to Odysseus, who was sitting on the leather bench of the cabin, giving orders to the California City government over his earphone. She waited until he finished speaking before she turned to him, a grim expression on her face.

"Odysseus, I need you to send out a distress signal," She said while the monorail began to slow down as it neared the base's Knightmare hangar. "Let everyone in Britannia know that California City is under attack by the Will of Ares." She walked over to the exit as the monorail car entered the hangar.

"B-But Cornelia," Odysseus stammered as the monorail came to a stop. The exit doors in front of his sister opened to let her off, "What are you going to do?"

"What I've always done," Cornelia replied without looking back and stepped off the monorail, "I will not run away while the men under my command are left to die." She turned to Odysseus with a determined look in her eyes. "You and I have different paths Odysseus. You have your job, now let me do mine." She turned and walked into the main hangar without waiting for a reply. The doors closed and the monorail slowly sped out of the hangar.

_'I hope those mercenaries came looking for a fight,'_ Cornelia thought as she quickly walked across the catwalk over the hangar floor toward her personal Gloucester, which stood near the rear of the hangar. She was three meters away from the Knightmare's open cockpit when a mechanic just outside the entrance pointed at the sky and started shouting something about a large grey airship. _'What?!' _Cornelia thought. Then the nose of the _Troy_ smashed through the front of the hangar, and the blimp exploded.


	14. Chapter 13: Chaos in California

**Asplund Testing Facility, Franklin State, Britannia**

**0807 MST**

**August 21st, 2020 a.t.b.**

"So Guilford," Lloyd Asplund asked Gilbert as a pair of massive steel doors opened in front of the catwalk they stood on, "what do you think?" He waved his hand emphatically to the new Knightmare that stood before them.

The Knightmare stood at about 5 meters and resembled an enlarged version of a Vincent Knightmare. But the similarities ended there. A pair of generators for an Energy Wing System jutted out of the machine's back. There were two dagger-shaped Slash Harkens attached to the unit's wrists, but Guilford could see at least four more Slash Harkens mounted throughout the Knightmare's body. A MVS sword was sheathed on the unit's left leg and it held a lance that had an identical appearance to the one used by a Gloucester unit.

"The X-02 Cattegirn," Lloyd said triumphantly, still waving his arms with dramatic flair, "the second tenth generation Knightmare frame ever created."

"Second?" Guilford said in surprise and turned to the former earl with a slightly annoyed look on his face. "Lloyd…what happened to the first one?"

"Heheh…" the Earl of Pudding grinned sheepishly, "Well…You see…" He paused and a rather large sweatdrop formed on the back of his head as he tried to regain his composure, well aware of the vein pulsing on Guilford's forehead. "I kind of overdid it with the design of the first tenth generation Knightmare, and now it's impossible to pilot."

"I see," Guilford said and turned his gaze back to the Cattegirn. _'If Lloyd is right, this Knightmare should be powerful enough to defeat those machines.'_

Suddenly a shrill alarm went off and brought Guilford back to reality. "What's happening?" He demanded and turned to Lloyd, who was looking around in confusion. "Lloyd!" Guilford barked at the bewildered scientist.

"It's the invasion alarm," Cecile Croomy's voice echoed over the hangar's intercom. "Someone's just launched an attack on California City."

Guilford turned toward the intercom in shock. "What did you just say?"

* * *

**Black Knights HQ, Japan**

**0023 MST**

"California City's under attack?!" Lelouch repeated in shock as he stared at Odysseus' face on the central vid comm screen. Now almost completely recovered from his injuries, Lelouch stood in center of the Black Knights' control room.

"Y-yes Zero!" Odysseus stammered, "Cornelia and I were inspecting Britannia's California military base when reports started coming in about a fleet of Carleon and Logres class Battleships hovering right above the base. A gigantic egg-shaped craft just landed on the middle of the commercial airfield just outside the base about two minutes ago. Its profile is very similar to the one used by the Grandmaster's Red Army."

_'For a man who looks like he's about to have a nervous breakdown,'_ Lelouch thought as Odysseus provided everyone in the Black Knight's command center with more tactical information, _'He's doing well at staying focused.'_ His eyes narrowed when Odysseus mentioned the blimp's kamikaze attack on the base's main Knightmare hangar. _'But providing us with this information might be the only thing that's keeping him from going into shock.'_

"Odysseus," Lelouch said abruptly, cutting his older brother off mid-sentence. "Where is Cornelia?"

"Cornelia…" Odysseus choked out, "…was in the Knightmare hangar when the blimp hit! I've been trying to raise her over a private channel but there's no response!" The former first-in-line to the throne of Britannia hid his face in his hands and tried to hold back the shell-shocked emotions that had crushed his normally calm behavior.

_'Damn it,'_ Lelouch thought as his hand tightened into a fist. "Thank you for your help Odysseus," He said while keeping his voice calm so the former Imperial Family member wouldn't feel distressed from Zero's response. "I suggest you get some rest for now." Odysseus nodded and the comm screen switched off.

* * *

**0836 MST**

The blimp's explosion had taken out the majority of the Knightmare hangar and turned the network of catwalks that stretched across the hangar into a charred spider web that lay in a twisted metal heap on the floor. This 'spider web' had crushed at least six Akatsuki Knightmare units in the hangar and effectively blocked the hangar entrance.

"Urgh…" Cornelia moaned as she slowly regained consciousness. She opened her eyes and looked around, trying to assess the situation. The first thing she noticed was that a jagged piece of railing was lying on top of her torso, and on top of that was the wreckage of the catwalk she'd been standing on.

_'If that railing hadn't been there…' _She shuddered at the thought and slowly started to crawl out from underneath the wreckage. She grimaced as the railing's edge cut into her skin and stopped moving as she got her torso out from beneath the railing. Cornelia looked down at her clothes and saw that the railing had shredded the top of her uniform, and there was slight bleeding from her abdomen.

"Great," She muttered and clutched her stomach as she finished crawling out from under the railing. _'First I nearly get killed by a terrorist attack and now I have no idea what's going on in the battlefield. Could this day get any worse?'_

Suddenly the ground shook and Cornelia heard the sound of automatic weapons fire just outside the ruins of the Knightmare hangar entrance. She crawled along the ground and poked her head out from behind the ruined catwalk and saw a mixture of Black Knight Akatsuki and Britannian Sutherland Knightmares skid by as they exchanged fire with a group of Panzer-Hummels, Gun-Rus and Sutherlands. Cornelia raised an eyebrow as she noticed one thing about the attackers. _'There's no uniform color scheme.'_ She thought and leaned against the catwalk while sweat dripped down her forehead.

_'Is this really an attack by the Will of Ares?'_ Cornelia wondered. All the previous assaults by the Will of Ares had used the powerful Battlemech units, not outdated Knightmares. _'Maybe someone's trying to take advantage of the Will of Ares' recent moves to launch attacks of their own.' _

That thought was swiftly crushed by the foot of a twelve meter tall Battlemech as it stepped into view. _'Not good,' _Cornelia thought as she spotted the Dogs of War's insignia. The Battlemech's black and grey color scheme shocked her for a moment.

_'The Will of Ares has the Dogs of War on its payroll?_' Cornelia thought and slowly got to her feet. _'If that's the case then this war just became a lot more difficult.'_ She thought and frowned as she reviewed her limited knowledge of the current status of the battlefield.

_'There are currently three groups fighting in the base: the Black Knights/Britannian defenders, the Dogs of War and a second group of mercenaries fighting with the Dogs of War. If General Walburga is the one leading this assault then I can't win with just the base's defenders.' _She knew the Dogs of War's commander from her days as the General-in-Chief of the Britannian Army. '_I would need a Knightmare with the power of the Lancelot or the Guren to level the playing field.' _

Cornelia turned toward the back of the ruined hangar and her personal Gloucester crouched on one knee as if waiting for her orders. A smirk crossed the colonel's features and she staggered over to the powerful Knightmare. "On second thought," she said as she ran her hand across the unit's left arm, "If Walburga doesn't know I'm here I might have a chance."

* * *

"Report in Badger," General Walburga commanded as she sat in the cockpit of her 11 ½ meters tall, 100 ton _Daishi_ Battlemech while it sat crouched inside the _War Den_'s biggest 'Mech bay. "Are the charges ready yet?"

One of the Battlemechs Kazimir had classified as Assault level, the _Daishi_ was a Battlemech to be feared. Armed with a fearsome array of lasers, autocannons and missiles a _Daishi_ could supposedly outgun the gigantic _Atlas_ Battlemech. The thought of being able to go toe to toe with the Grandmaster's Battlemech and win amused the leader of the Dogs of War.

To tell the truth General Walburga actually wasn't supposed to be anywhere near the _Daishi_, let alone inside the its cockpit, according to Kazimir's orders. _'Then why did you have it parked inside my ship?'_ Rebekka had thought with a childish smirk when she got inside the Daishi' cockpit.

"Badger reporting," Dax said as his rugged face appeared on the vid comm above the _Daishi_'s controls, "The charges should be ready to blow at 0900 give or take a couple minutes."

The leader of The Devil's Rejects had been inside the huge gondola of the _Troy_ when the blimp did a kamikaze into the base's Knightmare hangar. Following the explosion he had led a surprise attack on the base's defenders at 0811 from inside his checkered-flag colored Panzerfaust, while the rest of the assault force began landing in a desert just southwest of the base. The base and the desert were separated by a low ridge which allowed units on both sides of the battle some cover. On the one hand it prevented the base's defensive guns from turning the landing assault force into Swiss cheese but it also blocked the assault force's view of the base.

"Having some trouble with the base defenders?" Rebekka asked with a smirk. One thing she liked about Battlemechs was that they could fight a Knightmare in single combat and win. Well most 'Mechs anyway; some of the light class 'Mechs could be destroyed by a Knightmare if it had enough firepower.

"On the contrary General Walburga," Dax replied, "The Black Knights are on the run. Your Battlemechs have provided quite the fireworks display over here. Your troops have done an excellent job keeping these Knightmares at bay while my men prepare the charges."

"That is good to hear Badger. General Walburga out."

* * *

**Author's note:** Sorry for the slow updates folks. I seem to be suffering from a major case of writer's block lately and I've been having trouble finishing the chapters, so the next update may take a little longer.


	15. Chapter 14: An Old Nemesis

**Asplund Testing Facility, Franklin State, Britannia**

**0838 MST**

**August 21st, 2020 a.t.b.**

"What do you mean 'Franklin State isn't going to send any reinforcements to California Base'?" Guilford demanded as his face contorted in anger. He grabbed Lloyd by the collar of his lab coat and slammed him against the railing of the hangar observation platform. "Do you know who is down there right now?" Guilford snapped. His normally calm and collected demeanor had evaporated about ten minutes ago after he received the latest report from an outpost in California City.

"Don't blame me," Lloyd replied as calmly as possible to Guilford, trying not to aggravate the Black Knights Commander any further, "I didn't make that decision."

"He's right Commander Guilford," Cécile Croomy said as she appeared standing in the observation platform's doorway with a worried look on her face. "The decision was made by Governor Bedford." She walked over to Guilford and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you want to be down in California with your superiors but taking your anger out on Lloyd will do nothing to get you there." Cécile took care not to say Cornelia's name because of Guilford's connection to the Colonel of the Black Knights.

Guilford shrugged Cécile off and pulled Lloyd away from the railing, trying to regain his composure as he looked at the X-02 Cattegirn below. But the scowl from his remained on his face and seemed to chisel itself into his face as reviewed the report's information in his head.

The situation at California Military Base had severely deteriorated in the past half hour. According to the report the attackers had almost routed the base defenders with a combination of ragtag Knightmares and a series of large Battlemechs bearing the Dogs of War's insignia. The assault appeared to be a concerted effort involving at least two mercenary organizations, meaning the likelihood of the Will of Ares' involvement was high. However the outpost had just received confirmation that troops from other bases in-state were headed to aid the California Base's defenders. The report had an end note that predicted:

If the Will of Ares has the power and resources to enlist the help of elite mercenary organizations such as the Grandmaster's Red Army and the Dogs of War, not to mention any other soldiers-of-fortune groups on the planet, the U.F.N. is now fighting a world war against an enemy with access to some of the most brilliant strategic military minds in the world.

_'If the Dogs of War haven't had a change in leadership in the last four years,'_ Guilford thought as he stared at the Cattegirn's head. _'Then that woman knows the Britannians probably won't send reinforcements in from out of state. The Dogs of War should conquer California Military Base within the hour and wipe out any reinforcements. It'll be even easier this time with Battlemechs.'_ His hands clutched the railing in a vice-like grip as he remembered the last time he had faced the Dogs of War in battle under Cornelia's command.

Suddenly Guilford's expression changed. The Black Knights Commander turned to Lloyd and Cécile with a determined look on his face. "Is the Cattegirn's control system the same as the Vincent or the Gloucester?"

"The systems are similar…" Lloyd started to say and then realized what Guilford was planning. "You can't be serious! That base is over 1500 kilometers away! The Cattegirn hasn't even been field tested yet!" He stared at Guilford with his mouth open as if the commander was insane. Then he folded his arms and defiantly leaned against the door of the observation platform. "Not to mention it takes over two and a half hours to get down to California City from here in a normal military transport. Even using the Energy Wing System it would take you at least an hour to reach the battlefield."

"Lloyd," Cécile politely interrupted. "You're forgetting about the _Raven_."

Lloyd blinked, caught off guard by his assistant's contradiction. "The _Raven_?" He repeated with a contemplative look on his face. "I did forget about the _Raven_. Yes…that might actually work." He looked at Guilford and a smile formed on his face as he walked over to the former Britannian Knight. "After all, this is the best chance we'll get to test a tenth generation Knightmare against a Battlemech before the war really heats up!" He looked Guilford straight in the face and grinned like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Congratulations!" Lloyd shouted cheerfully and wrapped an arm around Guilford's shoulders, "You get to be the Cattegirn's test pilot!"

* * *

**0847 MST**

Cornelia sat in her Gloucester's cockpit, clutching her stomach as she powered up her personal Knightmare. "I will never be able to forgive myself if I bleed to death in the middle of a warzone." She muttered as she activated the Gloucester's comm system and felt the Knightmare rise to its feet.

"_War Den_ this is Assault 3," A static-filled voice called out over the comm's open channel. "It looks like the Black Knights have retreated from the base proper. Permission to pursue them?"

_'Idiot,'_ Cornelia thought as the voice-only comm returned to static, _'Using the open channel in the middle of a battle.'_ She ran a systems check on her Knightmare as the sound of gigantic footsteps neared the hangar. Then another thought occurred to her. _'They're probably too arrogant to care about someone intercepting their communications. All that firepower in those machines must have gone to their heads.'_ A smirk formed on her face at the thought as she put her Gloucester in stand-by mode as a Battlemech slowed to a halt in front of the hangar opening.

"Negative Assault 3," General Rebekka Walburga's commanding voice wiped the smirk off Cornelia's face as it cut through the comm's static. "Your lance is going to continue sweeping the area for hostiles and then return to the _War Den_ once the Devil's Rejects have finished arming the charges."

_'Walburga's here?'_ Cornelia thought and grabbed hold of the Gloucester's controls as the eleven meter tall Battlemech outside the hangar turned to face her position. "This is turning into Russia all over again," She muttered as she examined her opponent. The Battlemech in front of her was the largest one she'd seen yet. Roughly human in shape, a large cannon for its right arm, and standing at 11 meters tall, the Battlemech before her was certainly intimidating.

Suddenly Cornelia realized that the barrel of Battlemech's right arm was aiming straight for her position. _'Do I risk evading a potential kill shot and being discovered?'_ Cornelia thought as her combat instincts screamed at her to move, _'Or do I wait to see if I've been spotted?'_ Two seconds later she yanked the Gloucester's controls to the right side of the cockpit and felt the Knightmare slid to the right. A split second later there was a loud boom and a supersonic projectile blasted through the hangar wall where Cornelia's Gloucester had just been moments before.

_'Looks like I've been spotted,'_ Cornelia thought as her Gloucester took cover behind some debris inside the hangar as three green medium pulse lasers flashed by her Knightmare. A tense smile formed on her lips as she readied her Gloucester's weapons. "Now it gets interesting."

*insert break line*

"Enemy contact!" The pilot of the 90 ton, 11 meter tall _Highlander_ shouted over the open comm channel, catching Rebekka Walburga's attention, "Bright purple Gloucester. Custom model. Equipped with a float system and wearing a white cape. Looks like the Black Knights still want to play!"

"I 'ear ya Assault 3," Assault Lead replied in his East Britannian accent from inside the cockpit of his 85 ton, 11 meter tall _Gunslinger_. "Let us oblige dem."

"A bright purple Gloucester wearing a white cape…" Rebekka repeated aloud to herself as she pulled off her officer's cap and ran a hand through her shoulder-length platinum blond hair. _'Could it really be her?'_

* * *

**0850 MST**

Guilford surveyed the interior of the X-02 Cattegirn's cockpit with interest as he took a seat at the Knightmare's controls. "The controls seem the same…" He muttered as he powered the second tenth generation Knightmare up into standby mode as it sat crouched on what he thought was a launch catapult inside the belly of a large black, V-shaped aircraft Lloyd and Cécile called the _Raven_.

"This is Cécile Croomy," Cécile's voice poured through Guilford's headset on the open comm channel, "Requesting clearance to launch the _Raven_ high speed transport." Guilford heard an affirmative from the Testing Facility's control tower and braced himself for the launch.

"3…2…1…_Launch!_"

Guilford's body was slammed back against the cockpit's seat by the G-forces as the _Raven_ shot out of the facility's hangar and took off down the runway before pulling up for takeoff three seconds later.

"Estimated arrival time at Brittannian California Military Base is twenty-five minutes," Cécile's voice informed a dazed Guilford as the _Raven_ leveled out at 1500 meters and began its journey toward California Military Base and Cornelia.

Guilford frowned as he stared at the Cattegirn's front monitor out at the front of the containment bay. "Hang on Cornelia…" He whispered to himself, "Help is on the way."

* * *

"Damn it!" Cornelia swore under her breath as her Gloucester rushed through the hole left by the _Highlander_'s Gauss Rifle at the back of the base's Knightmare Hangar. She set the Gloucester's throttle to maximum and veered left as the _Highlander_'s medium pulse lasers stitched a series of holes in the Knightmare's cape. A Sutherland and a Panzer-Hummel from the other mercenary group pulled out from around the corner and opened fire as Cornelia closed distance with the pair.

"Get out of my way!" Cornelia shouted and fired both her Slash Harkens into the Sutherland's cockpit and impaled the Panzer-Hummel on her Gloucester's jousting lance. She pulled the lance out of the Panzer-Hummel and kept moving as she heard the methodical footfalls of multiple Battlemechs headed in her direction. But something was off. One set of footsteps sounded like it was walking on the hangar roof.

"You really kicked the hornet's nest this time Cornelia!" She muttered as she started to turn the corner of the hangar into the gap between the Knightmare hangar and the next hangar. "Oh shit!" she gasped when she saw the 12 meter tall, 90 ton _Mauler_ standing on the other end of the gap. She immediately threw her Gloucester into reverse and backpedaled around the corner. As Cornelia started to turn around her Knightmare it was engulfed in a column of superheated exhaust and two jets of flame hit her Gloucester's cape. Acting on instinct Cornelia threw the Knightmare into reverse again and thrust its lance upward toward the source of the flames as she backed up.

Cornelia was extremely lucky. Her lance scored a hit on the _Highlander_'s right foot just moments before the 90 ton Battlemech would crushed her beneath its weight. Instead Assault 3's _Highlander_ landed its right side two meters in front of her and sent its 'head' through the back wall of the next hangar. She let out a sigh of relief as the Battlemech's right arm snapped off at the shoulder underneath its own weight. "You're done," Cornelia said with a smirk and kept moving backward.

Her smirk turned into a frown as the _Highlander_ slowly started to get back on its feet. She fired a couple bursts from the Gloucester's assault rifle into the jumpjets on the Battlemech's back and kept moving as the jumpjets burst into flames as the _Highlander_ stood back up.

Suddenly Cornelia heard a familiar static-filled voice over the open comm channel. "Oh shit! Assault 3 ejecting!" She looked up in confusion and watched as a small pod shot out of the top of the Battlemech's head. _'I shouldn't be surprised that Battlemechs have ejection systems, but why is he ejecting-'_ Cornelia didn't finish her thought as the ammunition inside the _Highlander_'s torso detonated in a spectacular explosion that took out a large chunk of the hangar wall.

"It's time to take the fight to the enemy," Cornelia thought as the Gloucester did an about-face and took off toward the ridge at the edge of the base, using a cluster of warehouses for cover.

There was a loud boom and a round from a Gauss Rifle zoomed over the top of Cornelia's Gloucester and snapped the left horn off the Knightmare's head like it was a twig. The force of the blow caused the Gloucester to spin out and crash through the side of a nearby warehouse and slammed Cornelia into the front of her cockpit. The Knightmare's crash saved Cornelia's life, because one second later another Gauss Rifle fired straight past the wall her Gloucester had gone through.

"Shit…" Cornelia moaned as she sat back her cockpit and felt something wet on her forehead. She turned her Knightmare so it faced the hole it had created. About fifty meters away she could see the 11 meter tall, 85 ton _Gunslinger_ standing in front of a 20x20 meter square fence that served as an ammunition depot, steam coming off the barrels of both arm-mounted Gauss Rifles.

"Dangnabbit!" The sound of Assault Lead's accent grated against Cornelia's ears and she clutched her head as it started pounding as she heard him rant over the open comm. "I almost 'ad him! Imma get 'im this time boys!"

Now with a headache and in a very bad mood, Cornelia flipped her Gloucester's comm on and switched to the open channel. "Hey buddy!" She said to get Assault Lead's attention as her Gloucester stood in the opening it had created moments ago and raised its assault rifle. "Shut up." She fired a concentrated burst through the _Gunslinger_'s legs and into the side of an ammunition crate at the edge of the dangerous square.

"What the-" Assault Lead never got a chance to finish his sentence as the ammunition depot behind his Battlemech exploded and violently engulfed the _Gunslinger_ in a massive fireball. The force of the explosion tore through the 85 ton Battlemech weak rear armor and caused the _Gunslinger_'s ammunition bins to detonate in a fiery explosion inside the smoke from the depot's explosion.

Without waiting to see if she'd killed the irritating Battlemech pilot Cornelia took off at full throttle toward the ridge. Moments later her Gloucester had cleared the top of the ridge and she was could see all of the assault force's transports in front of her. She almost didn't see the 10.5 meter tall, 85 ton _Longbow_ that was standing roughly four hundred meters away facing the fireball from the depot. Ignoring the large Battlemech Cornelia accelerated down the other side of the ridge and headed straight for the _War Den_. A large bay door lay open facing her and she didn't consider what could be inside until she heard General Walburga's voice.

"Hello Cornelia…" General Rebekka Walburga said over the open comm as Cornelia closed the distance with the open bay door. Inside the bay Cornelia saw a massive Battlemech start up.

Cornelia tried to turn her Gloucester but it was too late. A pair of Ultra Autocannon 5 rounds tore the Knightmare apart, one punching through the back of the cockpit as it blew off the head and right arm while the second shattered the frame's lower torso. Now wrecked beyond belief and moving under sheer momentum, the shattered carcass of Cornelia's Gloucester skittering into the center of the _War Den_'s mech bay and grinded to a halt at _Daishi_'s feet.


	16. Chapter 15: Display of Power

**Above the Pacific Ocean**

**0913 MST**

**August 21st, 2020 a.t.b.**

"You have got to be kidding." Edgar Dax said as he stood beside General Walburga inside a lift on board the _War Den_, "That Gloucester's pilot was _the_ Princess Cornelia li Britannia?" He stared at Rebekka with an astonished expression on his face and leaned against the side of the lift. A small, unmarked steel suitcase was tucked underneath his right arm as his back pressed up against the lift wall.

"I do not 'kid' Mr. Dax," Rebekka replied coolly as she leaned against the other lift wall and then added, "At least, not often." She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. "I wasn't sure until she destroyed two assault class Battlemechs."

"So did you kill her?" Edgar asked.

"Maybe," Rebekka replied coolly, "You do realize that I put two Ultra Autocannon 5 rounds into her Knightmare right? Her Knightmare was so wrecked it barely looked recognizable after I shot it."

"True," Edgar replied as the lift came to a stop and the doors slowly opened and let the two mercenary commanders onto the bridge of the _War Den_.

* * *

**En route to Britannian California Military Base**

**0914 MST**

"Guilford," Cécile said as her face appeared on the Cattegirn's vid comm, "We're about 300 kilometers from our destination. I would suggest bringing the Cattegirn out of standby mode now so you can activate the Energy Wing System once you're outside the _Raven_."

"Understood," Guilford said and began running a diagnostic on the Cattegirn's systems. "Ms. Croomy, could you please give me an uplink to the Raven's bow camera? I want to know what's happening on the ground before I drop in."

"Coming right up," Cécile replied and California City appeared on the vid comm. Along with a large egg-shaped dot hovering in the about 800 kilometers away.

Guilford frowned. Why was the Will of Ares already in the air? "Ms. Croomy, are you seeing this? Something's not…" He stopped speaking as a blinding light suddenly filled the camera. Guilford threw his hands up in front of his face to block out the light until the light began to form a rough oval shape. _'It can't be…'_ "Pull up!" He shouted through his headset.

"Oh my…" Cécile said in shock as a mushroom cloud began to form from the explosion. She sat frozen in shock at the _Raven_'s communication controls as the transport kept accelerating toward the explosion.

The explosion's shockwave hit the _Raven_ with the force of a thousand high speed trains all at once. The front of the _Raven_ crumpled and the fragile plane tumbled end over end, carried along by the shockwave before it finally plowed into the side of a nearby reservoir.

* * *

**An orange farm, California**

**0916 MST**

Jeremiah Gottwald stood on the porch of his farmhouse and surveyed all the tents that had been set up in his orchards. His orange farm had been turned into a emergency refugee camp for people who had fled California City an hour earlier. Among the refugees in the camp was one very traumatized Odysseus Eu Britannia, who was currently asleep after delivering his report to Zero.

Suddenly the sky off in the distance flashed a vibrant white. "That's over California City…" Jeremiah muttered as the light faded and a large circular cloud began to form in its place. He frowned and looked down at the refugee camp in front of him. "I think these people might be staying here for awhile."

* * *

"Miss Cécile!" Guilford shouted into his headset before he realized he wasn't even receiving any static. _'That blast must have fried all communications.'_ He thought as he tested the Cattegirn's controls. "But it didn't fry the Knightmare's controls," Guilford muttered as the Knightmare's right arm moved and jabbed its lance forward. "For all the good that does."

The Cattegirn was currently securely latched in the platform for the launch catapult and couldn't move unless the Raven's crew released the catches holding the Knightmare in place. That and the Knightmare was currently tilted ninety degrees on its left.

"Guilford…" Cécile's voice brought Guilford out of his grumbling and caused the Black Knights Commander to briefly tap his headset. Then he spotted Lloyd's assistant trying to crawl through a hatch from the cockpit into the containment bay.

* * *

It was dark. The bridge was not supposed to be dark. Rebekka slowly got to her feet and looked around the bridge of the _War Den _as the lights came back on. "Report!" She barked at the navigation officer and walked over to the edge of the commander's platform, which rose above a circular area that contained all the ship's control consoles. "What the hell just happened?"

"It appears the _War Den_ was hit by a shockwave of some kind," the navigation officer replied. "Possibly an aftereffect from the explosive."

"And the rest of the attack force?" Edgar asked as he got to his feet, the steel suitcase half-open in his hands. He walked into the center of the commander's platform beside Rebekka and started asking question. "Are my ships still flying?"

"All of The Devil's Rejects' armada is still airborne," was the reply from the bridge's sensor officer. "However I count one Caerleon-class Floating Battleship that is currently listing to port and may slowly begin to lose altitude unless it doesn't reactivate its aft-port Float System."

"Are there any other Floating Battleships in the immediate area?" Edgar asked as he closed the steel suitcase and tucked it underneath his left arm. "We can have it tow the other ship to the rendezvous point and-"

"Excuse me Badger," Rebekka interrupted and fixed the leader of The Devil's Rejects with an icy glare. "This is _my_ ship. This is _my_ crew. And this-" She tapped the metal floor with the toe of her jackboot-"is _my_ bridge. Now shut up or I will _make_ you shut up." She continued to glare at Edgar until he gave the general a submissive nod and backed off the commander's platform.

"Now then," she said as she turned back to the bridge's crew, "Get me an image of California Military Base."

"Yes sir," replied an officer from the communications section. "Bringing up California Military Base right now." Moments later an image flashed onto the bridge's main screen.

"Oh my…" Rebekka said and clasped a hand over her mouth as she stared at the fiery mushroom cloud where Britannian California Military Base _and_ California City had been standing less than five minutes ago.

* * *

**Siberia**

**0021 MST**

**August 22nd, 2020 a.t.b.**

Back at the Will of Ares' Siberian base, the leaders of the other five mercenary groups were gathered in a conference room and the gigantic mushroom cloud on a large flatscreen. Bentley "Rasta" Langford, leader of the Kingston Brigade, sat on the conference room's leather couch, all traces of sleep gone from his body at the destruction on the screen. Coyote, commander of the Spirit Snatchers, sat next to the stunned mercenary commander with a deep-set frown on his face. Rodrigo and Duncan, the dual leaders of the White Buffalo Irregulars, both sat cross-legged in front of the couch and attentively watched the mushroom cloud. Meanwhile Herman Crocifisso and the Grandmaster stood to the left of the couch and simply watched the screen. There was a stiff silence amongst the six commanders.

Rodrigo finally broke the silence.

"That was no ordinary explosive," he said and turned to face the others.

"No shit Rodrigo," Duncan said bluntly, giving his partner with an annoyed look. "No ordinary explosive could blow up the entire California Military Base plus the whole damn city next door!"

"Rodrigo is right," Herman stated, his sage-like voice causing the other five commanders to pay attention. "This is the first time a weapon this powerful has ever been used, let alone seen on the field of battle. Something that powerful is dangerous in the wrong hands."

"Hate to break it to you old man," 'Coyote' said as he rubbed the line of red triangle tattoos on his chin, "But this isn't the first time a weapon like that has been used. You've all heard about the weapon that destroyed the Tokyo Settlement right?" He looked at the other mercenaries as they nodded in silent reply. They'd all heard about the F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb. Most of the mercenary organizations had heard about the destructive weapon almost immediately after the Second Assault on Tokyo Settlement. In fact a myriad of mercenary groups had gone after Nina Einstein, intending to force her to build F.L.E.I.J.A. warheads for them.

"I'm sorry Coyote," Herman calmly replied, "But this device is different from an F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead. The blast is differs radically from the straightforward Sessrumnir Sphere expansion and reduction sequence that occurs in an F.L.E.I.J.A." He pointed toward the mushroom cloud on the screen to prove his point, "As you can see this bomb has no sphere and appears to have turned everything that wasn't caught in the immediate blast into a raging inferno." He looked back at Coyote, "I don't believe I ever heard any reports about fires raging near the epicenter of the blast at the Tokyo Settlement."

Coyote scowled at Herman but nodded in agreement.

"Wait just a moment," Bentley interrupted, his dreadlocks shaking as he faced the other four commanders. "If the man writing our paycheck has something like that what the hell does he need us for?"

While the other five commanders discussed the new bomb, the Grandmaster quietly stepped out of the conference room and walked down the hallway toward the G.R.A.'s barracks. _'The Supreme Commander needs to learn more patience,'_ Tàmhas thought sarcastically as he passed the lift that led to the base's auditorium. _'I know he wants to bathe the world in blood, but did he have to use that particular bomb? Now I have to completely readjust the plan's timetable!'_

The Grandmaster let out a sigh of exasperation as he reached the end of the hallway and stepped into the lift to the barracks level. _'I need to contact General Walburga and my agent in Tokyo to get an update on the overall situation before I can proceed with the plan.'_ He thought as the lift's doors closed.


	17. Chapter 16: A Piece of Information

**Ashford University, Japan**

**1535 MST**

**August 29th, 2020 a.t.b.**

Kallen laid face-up on the bed inside her dorm room at the Ashford University Student Council building with a blank look on her face. The Black Knights' ace quietly mulled over the past seven days as she stared at the ceiling.

Over a hundred million people had been killed in California City and countless more had been injured by the explosion in the center of California Military Base. The attack and the massive casualties it left behind shocked the world and delivered another devastating blow to the UFN's confidence in the Black Knights.

_'This is impossible,'_ Kallen thought as she sat up and looked at the digital clock on the other side of her dorm room, _'How are we supposed to beat these damn mercenaries if we're always on the defensive?'_ The Black Knights' ace pilot snapped back to reality as she heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Conley Sullivan," the Irish transfer student replied from the other side of the door. "I found your phone in the meeting room."

"Eh?" Kallen replied in confusion and yanked open the drawer next to her bed, completely forgetting she was only dressed in her underwear and skirt. _'That can't be!' _She thought as she searched through the drawer. _'I know I brought it back with me last night!'_

"Um…can I come in?" Conley asked.

"Go ahead." Kallen replied as she finished searching for her phone. She turned around and folded her arms across her chest as the raven-haired transfer student slowly walked inside. Conley's light grey eyes darted about Kallen's room, examining every detail before he stopped a few feet away from Kallen.

Conley Sullivan seemed to have a timid personality that made him shy away from socializing ever since he had transferred to the university from Ireland. Gino had suggested that he'd open up sooner or later, but that had been over a year ago. The only thing that the Irishman seemed to enjoy was playing chess, which he always beat Gino at every time the former Knight of Three demanded a rematch.

"Here," Conley said bluntly and held his hand out toward Kallen. Her earphone sat in the palm of his hand, just as he said. Then transfer student turned his head and looked away as a line of pink appeared on his face.

"Thanks," Kallen said as she took her phone back. She stared at the small device with a confused look on her face before glancing back up at Conley. _'Why is he blushing? Is he really that shy?'_ She thought before she looked down and realized she wasn't wearing a shirt.

"GAAHH!!" Kallen shrieked and quickly covered her chest. "OUT!!" She yelled at Conley, who looked like he was going to die of fright as he fled the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

Kallen quickly rummaged through her drawer for a shirt and pulled on a loose white T-shirt before she let out a sigh of frustration. "Why does this always happen to me?" She asked herself aloud and sat down on her bedside.

Suddenly her earphone started ringing. "Huh?" Kallen muttered as she picked up the device and put it to her ear. "Hello?"

"It's been awhile Miss Kozuki," said the Grandmaster in a casual tone.

Kallen froze. It couldn't be him. There was no way. "How did you get this number?" She demanded.

"It doesn't matter how I got this number," replied the Grandmaster coolly, "What does matter is that I have some information on the mercenaries who attacked California City."

"What information?" Kallen asked, uncertain of whether she should trust the mercenary who had led an attack on Japan a less than a month ago. She hit the record button on her phone and waited for the Grandmaster's reply.

"I can't seem to remember," The Grandmaster taunted, "And all your demanding makes me want to hang up."

Kallen balled her hands into fists and asked again through gritted teeth. "What information do you have, _please_?"

"That's better," the Grandmaster's condescending voice was really working on Kallen's last nerve. "Now I assume you would like to know the location of the mercenaries who attacked California City?"

"Yes."

"Well then I suggest that the Black Knights concentrate their search above the Arctic Circle. You should be able to find the largest mercenary vessel somewhere in that area." There was a click and the line disconnected.

* * *

**Siberia**

**1443 MST**

**August 29th, 2020 a.t.b.**

Tamhas Wotan let out a chuckle as he hung up on Kallen. The Grandmaster pulled off his king-piece shaped mask and set it next to the chessboard in front of him. _'Everything is in place,'_ He thought and took the red king off the chessboard. Tamhas twirled the piece between his fingertips and leaned back in his armchair as a twisted smirk formed on his face.

"What are you up to now Tamhas?" Nomen Nescio asked as he walked up behind the mercenary's chair.

"Hello to you as well," Tamhas replied as glanced toward the doorway to make sure that the door shut. "What's on your mind N2? Did you come to tell me some classified intelligence in person or do you just want to play a game of chess?"

"Why are you betraying General Walburga?" N2 asked as he walked around the Grandmaster's chair and took a seat on the opposite side of the table. "She's one of the most powerful allies in this war and you just gave her ship's location to the Black Knights."

"How long were you standing there?" Tamhas asked as he continued to fiddle with the king piece.

"Long enough. I _do_ have the access codes."

'_You, Morrighan and I are the only ones who should have those codes to begin with,' _Tamhas thought as he fixed N2 with a calm stare. "Don't worry about it N2. Everything is going according to plan."


	18. Chapter 17: Not Dead Yet

_**War Den**_**, Herald Island, Chukchi Sea**

**0946 MST**

**September 9th, 2020 a.t.b.**

"Good morning General Walburga." Edgar Dax's beard looked even more rugged on the as it appeared on the holoscreen in Walburga's office.

"Hello Dax," Rebekka said as she turned from her desk to face Edgar's image with a smirk on her face, "Enjoying the scenery?"

"If by scenery you mean water, icebergs and the occasional polar bear," Dax replied sarcastically. "Care to tell to me why my fleet is on the outer rim of Herald Island?"

"Dax," Rebekka said in a slightly mocking tone, "Dax, Dax. If I had wanted you to know my strategy for defending this island, I would have told you already." She reached out and shut off the holoscreen before the Devil's Rejects leader could reply.

Rebekka Walburga leaned against the edge of her desk and let out a sigh as the coffeemaker beside the holoscreen beeped and the coffeepot beneath slid out from underneath the machine. The general picked up an empty mug next to her and walked over to machine with a smirk on her lips.

"There are just some things you do not need to know." She muttered coolly as she poured fresh coffee into the mug and let out a short laugh at her statement. _'Things he doesn't need to know indeed!'_ Rebekka thought with a smirk, '_No one in the Will of Ares needs to know who I picked up in California City. The only people I'd ever consider informing are the Grandmaster and Hermann Crocifisso.'_ She took a sip of the coffee and took a seat behind her desk. _'I wonder how she'll react when she wakes up…' _

* * *

**Black Knights HQ, Japan**

**0651 MST**

Zero was on edge. He'd gathered all of the Black Knights' regional high command for a meeting over the attack in California City. Now they were all gathered around a large rectangular table inside a conference room underneath the Japanese Black Knights' HQ. Twenty-one Black Knight commanders sat around the table with the masked Lelouch, Todoh and Kallen seated on either side of him. Oghi and Rakshata sat further down the table's right side while Chiba Nagisa beside Todoh on the left side of the table, keeping a wary eye on the other commanders.

Two people that Lelouch had not expected were Gilbert G.P. Guilford, Cornelia's second in command, and Zhou Xianglin, Li Xingke's personal aide and the Deputy Chief of the Black Knights.

Lelouch had decided to hold the meeting inside this heavily fortified bunker because he had no idea if the Will of Ares knew that the entire brass of the Black Knights in Asia was all in one place. But what really had him paranoid was the 'anonymous tip' the Grandmaster gave them about the general location of the mercenaries who destroyed California City.

_'If he was able to get Kallen's phone number that means finding out about this meeting wouldn't be much of a challenge,'_ Lelouch thought and glanced at the people gathered around the table.

"Before we start this meeting, I would like to know why Li Xingke isn't here," Zero said and all eyes turned toward Zhou Xianglin for an explanation.

"Li and I were engaging a few small-time mercenaries in the Himalayas for the past week," Xianglin explained, "but two days ago Li was hospitalized by his illness, so I was sent in his place."

"Understood," Zero replied and looked down toward Guilford, who was about to speak. "You don't need to explain yourself Guilford. We know why you're here." The former Britannian commander nodded and seemed to relax in his seat.

"Now we all know what happened in Britannia eighteen days ago," Zero said and looked around the table as the commanders slowly nodded in reply. "We also know that the explosion in California City was caused by the Dogs of War and The Devil's Rejects. What's interesting is that after they destroyed California City these two mercenary groups somehow vanished from the face of the Earth. That is until now." He looked in Ohgi's direction. "Bring it up on screen."

Ohgi nodded and entered a code into the data pad on the table in front of him. Seconds later a bird's eye view of a small, oblong-shaped island appeared on a giant holoscreen behind Guilford's end of the table. The island was encircled by a gigantic ice field and accompanied by at least one iceberg at the bottom of the image.

"What is that?" one of the commanders asked, puzzled by the image.

"Its name is Herald Island," Zero replied, causing the commanders to look back at their leader in confusion. "It's an isolated island in the Chukchi Sea that was supposedly inaccessible by boat and air because of the sheer cliffs along the majority of its coast. The island's highest point is only 372 meters, a landmass of only 20 square kilometers, and has a reputation of being uninhabitable since its discovery. Or so we thought."

"That was until were given an anonymous tip," Zero continued, "The tip was to look for the mercenaries inside the Arctic Circle. Oghi, bring up the thermal image." He watched as Ohgi tapped a few more buttons on the data pad and thermal image of the same picture of Herald Island appeared on the holoscreen. At the southern end of the island was a large red circle that represented a heat signature.

"This photo was taken three days ago by one of our recon drones as it flew around the rim of the Arctic Circle," Zero said with confidence as he pointed an accusing finger at the holoscreen. "That is the den of the Dogs of War. We know where they are hiding, and I intend to take this war right to their leader's doorsteps. It's time the Black Knights went on the offensive."

Lelouch watched with a look of satisfaction behind his mask as the commanders nodded approvingly._ 'The Dogs of War just lost the advantage the Black Knights had when we were still trying to free Japan,'_ he thought, _'They can't fade away and take cover in their den to avoid retaliation by their enemies. If we're lucky this General Walburga doesn't know that her base's location has been discovered yet, which gives us the element of surprise.' _Zero watched as the regional commanders began to file out of the conference room, discussing possible battle plans among themselves. _'But we're going to have to act fast to catch her off guard. I want her alive so we can find out where this Astaroth and the Grandmaster are hiding.'_

* * *

**Recovery Unit, Dogs of War Island Base**

**1031 MST**

_'Am I dead?'_ She thought. Her body shifted abruptly, catching the two medics in the Recovery Unit by surprise. They discarded the chess game they had been playing and scrambled over to her bedside.

"She's starting to regain consciousness! Alert the General!"

Voices. _'Where am I?' _Her head turned from one side of the pillow to the other and she let out a moan. "Unnh…"

"She's coming around." Another male voice, this one sounding deeper than the first.

"I can see that! You two idiots get out of here. I want to be alone with her when she wakes up." This time it was female voice, more precisely a woman's voice.

She slowly opened her eyes and saw General Walburga seated next to her bed, a soothing, motherly look on her face.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Cornelia li Britannia." Rebekka Walburga said as she gently touched the side of Cornelia's face.


	19. Chapter 18: Answers

**Private Guest Quarters, **_**War Den**_**, Dogs of War Island Base**

**1926 MST**

**September 11th, 2020 a.t.b.**

Cornelia winced as hot water was sprayed all over her naked body. The former second princess of the Britannian Imperial Family thrust her head underneath the top showerhead and let the heated water cascade down her face. The warmth of the water as it blasted her from all sides relaxed her body's muscles, which had become stiff during her coma. It also reminded her that she was still alive.

After Cornelia completely regained consciousness, General Walburga had ordered her to be transferred up onto the _War Den_ and placed in one of the guest quarters. Much to Cornelia's surprise the guest quarters turned out to be a bedroom near the center of the massive ship, complete with a small closet, twin-sized bed, shower, bathroom, and surprisingly enough, a small bar in the corner stocked with a dozen types of alcohol. The only complaint Cornelia had was that the door locked from the outside.

_'But why?'_ She thought as she shut off the water and felt around for a towel outside the shower. _'Why did they save me?'_ Cornelia found her red one on a shelf nearby and quickly wrapped it around her torso before she stepped out of the shower and absentmindedly walked over to the bed. She took a seat on the side of the bed and sat there as if lost in thought.

"Hello General Walburga," Cornelia said without turning her head toward the mercenary general, who sat at the bar on the other side of the room with a bottle of vodka and a pair of shot glasses in front of her.

"Good morning Cornelia," Rebekka Walburga replied with a small smirk as she stared at Cornelia's mostly naked body.

"How long have you been there?" Cornelia asked as she looked over next to the shower. A tan uniform jumpsuit sat inside a metal basket beside the shower under the towel shelf.

"Since you got in the shower," Rebekka replied with a smirk as she walked over and took a seat on the other side of the bed. She glanced back at Cornelia, whose attention remained fixed on the basket in an attempt to ignore Rebekka's presence.

Cornelia slowly looked over her shoulder and blinked in surprise when she saw Rebekka's clothing. Her officer's cap was missing from her outfit, which let the lights shimmer off the general's shoulder-length platinum blonde hair. Rebekka looked over her shoulder and Cornelia immediately looked away, trying her best to ignore her captor's presence.

The two women sat there for a good ten minutes before Cornelia finally broke the silence.

"Why am I alive?" the Black Knights' commander asked, "But I guess the more appropriate question is: why did you take me with you instead of leaving me in California City?"

Cornelia's questions caused the Dogs of War's leader to turn around on the bed and take a seat beside the naked prisoner with a soothing smile on her face. That's when Cornelia noticed that Rebekka had also left her officer's jacket unbuttoned, revealing a low-cut white tank top underneath.

"To tell you the truth Cornelia," Rebekka replied as the smirk turned into a small grin. The mercenary general turned her head and looked Cornelia in the face, "Although I hate to admit it, the only reason you're alive is because the calibration on my _Daishi_'s Autocannons was slightly off. You were very lucky."

"As for why I took you with me," she continued and leaned closer to Cornelia, her face inches away from the former Princess of Britannia. "I did it to repay that debt from four years ago." Rebekka suddenly looked away from Cornelia and tried to hide the pained expression on her face. "It ended up saving your life. The Will of Ares was using the Dogs of War and the Devil's Rejects as couriers for a bomb…"

The leader of the Dogs of War looked at the ground and her hands curled into fists before she continued. "What they didn't tell us was the magnitude of its power. I expected it to merely destroy Britannia's California Military base…" She gritted her teeth in anger and forced the last part out. "…the damn thing turned the base into a massive crater and burned California City to the ground!"

Cornelia sat next to the mourning mercenary, frozen with shock. _'It's worse than F.L.E.I.J.A.,'_ Cornelia thought and looked down at her lap, trying to stay calm. "…How many casualties?" She asked.

"Over one hundred million were killed." Rebekka replied and slowly sat up. She leaned in even closer to Cornelia's face and whispered in her ear, "Remembering that I saved your life and brought you here as my guest is the only thing that seems to ease my pain."

Cornelia froze when she felt Rebekka's breath in her ear. _'What does she mean "ease my pain"?'_ She thought.

The Black Knights' Commander started to back away from her captor, but Rebekka grabbed Cornelia by the neck and forced her down the bed. Cornelia started to struggle in the mercenary's grasp. "What are you-?!" Cornelia was cut off as Rebekka forced her into an open-mouth kiss, taking the Black Knights' Commander completely by surprise. She was too stunned to react as Rebekka pinned her arms against the bed and started to pull off the towel Cornelia had wrapped around her body. The former Princess of Britannia kept struggling under the mercenary's grip, but she slowly began to give up when Rebekka ripped the towel off of Cornelia's chest and forced her into a deep kiss. _'Damn…it…' _Cornelia thought as she felt the mercenary's hand run across her chest.

Suddenly the room shook violently and caused the bottle of vodka and shot glasses that Rebekka had left on the bar counter to shatter as they hit the floor. The leader of the Dogs of War immediately broke the kiss with Cornelia and got to her feet. "What the hell-?" She ran a hand through her hair to get the few stray locks out of her face and flashed Cornelia a gentle smirk. "Don't worry, I'm not finished with you just yet."

Suddenly a loud beeping alarm started going off from the breast pocket of Rebekka's officer's jacket. The mercenary general pulled her earphone out of the pocket and activated the earpiece. "This is General Walburga. Go ahead."

There was a burst of static through the earpiece and Rebekka could hear shouting the background. Then she heard the voice of comm officer from the _War Den_'s bridge. "General Walburga! We're under attack! I-It's the Black Knights!"

"_WHAT_?!"


	20. Chapter 19: On the Offensive

**South of Herald Island, Black Knights Assault Force**

**1959 MST**

**September 11th, 2020 a.t.b.**

Zero sat in the cockpit of his newly repaired Shinkiro as it hovered above southern edge of the ice field that surrounded Herald Island. He watched the Black Knights below with a sense of satisfaction as one of the five Longdans he'd recruited for the offensive opened fire on the _War Den_ with the pair of large cannons mounted on its bow. The rounds fell short of their target and smashed harmlessly into the island's cliffs, sending debris flying into the ice field. Seconds later a volley from the Longdan's smaller cannons scored multiple hits along the top of the _War Den_.

"That should get their attention," Lelouch said with a chuckle as he activated one of the Shinkiro's vid comms and looked at the massive swarm of Akatsuki Knightmares hovering behind him. "C2 how long will it take for the Longdans to deploy their Knightmares?" He asked the current captain of the _Ikaruga_ as the ship floated overhead with the _Avalon_ and several _Caerleon_-class battleships.

"They should have all their Knightmares deployed in about five minutes," C2 replied as her face appeared on one of Shinkiro's vid comms. "The _Ikaruga_'s Hadron cannons are completely recharged. Shall I fire have them fire another salvo?"

"Not yet," Lelouch replied as he turned his attention to the massive egg-shaped dropship as it sat immobile on the island. "First I want to see if these mercenaries will simply surrender." He checked that the comm channel was secure before he continued. "How are things going with Kallen and Arondite?"

"The small task force we deployed on the western edge of the ice field hasn't encountered any resistance yet," C2 replied calmly. "But I doubt it will stay that way for much longer."

"Excellent," Zero replied with a nod, "Keep me informed. Zero out." The comm screen shut off and an aerial view of Herald Island appeared on the view screen on his left. "General Rebekka Walburga," Lelouch muttered to himself as he examined the snow-covered island's geography, "For someone with such a distinguished war record, you're not providing much resistance." The leader of the Black Knights focused on the coastline, tracing his finger along the island's edge. _'Unless…'_

A salvo of large booms brought Zero back to the present. His head jerked up just in time to see the Longdan that had fired on the _War Den_ get pulverized by a volley of supersonic projectiles. Smoke billowed out of the middle of the mobile fortress as it drifted forward into the ice beneath it. A few seconds later the ammunition for the land-cruiser's cannons detonated, destroying Longdan and several dozen Gun-Ru units it had just deployed as well as all the units inside it.

"So much for no resistance," Zero muttered and looked up at Herald Island and grimaced at the sight of twelve Gauss cannon turrets as they rose out of the snow. _'Shit,'_ He thought and activated his vidcomm. "Tohdoh! Order our ground forces to close in on the Dogs of War's base and take out those turrets before they destroy another one of our troop transports!" Lelouch quickly shut off the vidcomm and looked back at the _War Den_.

"Your move Walburga."

* * *

Rebekka stood in the center of the _War Den_'s bridge, watching the Black Knights' assault force on the holoscreen in front of her, a neon green tactical radar map providing battlefield intel on its left. She gingerly rubbed her cheek and grimaced as she watched one of the Longdans exploded under the barrage from her base's defenses.

_'How did they find us?'_ Walburga thought as she brought up the holoscreen beside her. "Are you there Dax?" She asked the mercenary as his face materialized on the screen.

"Yeah I'm here," Dax replied with a smirk. "I take it you need a hand up there?"

"Really now?" Rebekka snapped at the rugged mercenary and turned toward the _War Den_'s sensor officer, "What now?"

"General, scanners are picking up another group of Knightmares approaching us from the west!" The sensor officer shouted.

"Shit…" Rebekka groaned, "Deploy the Battlemechs. Don't let them reach the island!"

* * *

"Hey Arondite," Kallen's voice said over the open comm, "How's the Lancelot Albion handling?" Suzaku blinked beneath the visor of the mask he had been forced to wear to conceal his identity. He tapped the comm twice before he sent Kallen a reply. "The Lancelot's handling fine Miss Kozuki. I don't see why Kurugi was the only person able to pilot it before."

"Cut the chatter you two," Guilford's voice cut in through the open comm channel, "Everyone check your weapons. We're almost at Herald Island now and the Dogs of War probably haven't left their flank open to attack."

"Copy that Guilford," Suzaku replied and steered the Lancelot above the small task force of Akatsuki Knightmares as they reached the island's shore. He looked left and saw Guilford's Cattegirn rise up from the ice and fall in behind his own Knightmare. He took a quick look to his right and caught sight of Kallen's Guren SEITEN as it dropped in next to his right. _'We've got the three of the most powerful Knightmares in the world in this task force,'_ Suzaku thought as the task force advanced inland, _'This should be easy.'_

And then the missiles hit.


End file.
